Actress Dame Patricia Evison has died after a long illness, aged 85.
Born in Dunedin in 1924, she trained as a teacher before heading to London just after the end of World War II.
Returning to New Zealand from Britain with her husband in 1948, she quickly established herself as a leading stage actress.
Later, she became widely known in the early New Zealand television series Pukemanu and Close to Home.
She believed she had led a gentle life, and a happy one.
Dame Patricia, who lived for many years in the Wellington suburb of Seatoun, is survived by her husband Roger and their three children.
