A transgender Army veteran tragically died in her friend's arms after suffering a heart attack in the street.
Lesleigh Taylor, 65, was well-known within her local community.
Lesleigh, from Stockton, County Durham, and who transitioned to a woman in 2016, fell ill after having lunch in town last month, Teesside Live writes.
Her devastated friend Steph Bowes saw Lesleigh just minutes before she sadly lost her life on February 28.
Steph, 32, said: "She was having a lunch date with her friend in the town.
"She had a nice lunch, I saw her in the cafe and she seemed fine. She came to see me in my shop.
"Five minutes later she had a heart attack in the Hambletonian Yard. She died in her friend's arms.
"Her friend walked into my shop on her own and I just knew.
"It was so unexpected. She was so fit. she used to walk everyday, strutting around the town.
"A lot of people in the community are really sad and inspired by her life."
Steph was working in the Claredon Local shop when she first met Lesleigh in 2016, while she was still known as Robert.
She said: "She just bounced into my life suddenly. We did spend a lot of time together over the years.
"She was a customer. She appeared male at the time and one day she jumped around the counter wearing a dress. She said 'I'm Lesleigh, nice to meet you'.
"I supported her. I gave her lots of clothes and dresses and jewellery and make up. My brother is trans as well so I had just started learning myself about transgender people.
"She didn't have the best family situation when she was younger. She knew she wanted to be a girl from being around six years old.
"Her mam supported it but her dad didn't so she found different ways to hide it for years. She ended up going into the Army to hide it there.
"When her dad passed away she felt she could be her true self."
Steph said that Lesleigh, who was estranged from her family at the time of her death, embraced becoming a woman.
She said that she joined many local community groups within Stockton as well as the local church.
The shop owner, from central Stockton, said: "Everyone knew her, she was such a quirky character.
"She was just so caring and lovely and considerate. She used to compliment people in the street.
"When she found the Trans Aware support network in Stockton and she flourished.
"She wanted to be in the community making friends. She became part of the Jubilee church and she was part of a knitting group.
"She used to sit on a bench outside Aldi on Yarm Lane and everyone used to call it Lesleigh's bench. She used to sit knitting and watching the world go by.
Steph said Lesleigh was recognisable to people across the town due to her unique style.
She said: "She was such a quirky character and she had a signature look.
"She loved to dye her hair pink and purple and match her make up. She liked her lipstick to match her eye shadow.
"I saw Stockton as her personal catwalk! She made herself seen and known.
"She had to put up with a lot of discrimination. She said for every bad comment she had 100 good ones.
"She had had threats and secret videos and pictures of her put on Facebook. She put up with a lot. But she got on with it and she said that if anybody has a problem it's their problem not her problem.
Steph said she believes Lesleigh was born in Leeds and moved to Stockton with a former partner.
She said that she had just recently moved into a two bedroom house in Sun Street before her death.
Steph has made contact with Lesleigh's sisters and is in the process of arranging a funeral for her.
She has set up a GoFundMe page in the hope of raising funds for the service.
Julie Cooper, who runs Last Post and The Don War Memorial Museum in Thornaby, is hosting, organising and funding Lesleigh's wake.
Julie, 57, from Stockton, said: "She was very bubbly, she was a lovely person. She was always happy."
Steph said she will use any money left, after she covers the cost of Lesleigh's funeral, to the buy another defibrillator for Stockton high street in her memory.
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