JOAN Hardie died peacefully at her Cockermouth home on November 8 after a three-month illness, with her husband Jack and sister Barbara by her side.

She was able to end her life at home as she wished thanks to tremendous support from Cumbria County Council Care Services, Hospice at Home West Cumbria and the local palliative care team and district nurses.

Joan had a successful business career with senior positions in management consultancy, BT and the London Stock Exchange and then as an independent business consultant. At this time she was based near London and her work took her all over the world.

She had a lifelong interest in pottery which was reignited by seeing the work of the Basque potter Claudi Casanovas on a business trip to Barcelona.

In 2005 she decided on a complete career change – telling her consultancy clients that she "didn't do Fridays". She spent her Fridays taking a professional development course for designer-makers and getting back into working with clay.

With all the world to choose from as a place to live and set up a studio she and Jack chose Cockermouth - it's a town that's the right size, has real people, real shops, easy access to the Lakeland Fells and a handy lake close-by for sailing.

A year later she opened Bitter Beck Pottery in Market Place.

Her business skills came in useful again after the devastating floods in Cockermouth when she worked with members of the Cockermouth Chamber of Trade and others to help plan for the town's recovery.

After running the pottery successfully for10 years she decided to 'retire' and sold the business but it wasn't long before she was working again, pioneering a new pottery technique using 3D printing and selling her work in shows around the country.

Joan always loved the outdoors, racing a dinghy competitively at Bassenthwaite Sailing Club or fellwalking with a copy of Wainwright's guide to the Lakeland Fells in her pocket.

Over a period of 13 years Joan and Jack walked a total distance of 2,200 miles within the Lake District with total ascents of 782,000 feet – that's roughly equivalent to walking from Cockermouth to Istanbul and climbing up and down Mount Everest from sea level 27 times along the way.

She will be sadly missed by her family and many friends.