An entertainer and broadcast personality with a love of theatre was an inspiration who gave “loving encouragement to everyone she met”.

Darlene Hartley was a dancer as well as a singer with a gift for performance — whether on the stage, or running the productions of other artists.

Dale Butler, an author and former government minister, worked alongside Ms Hartley in staging his own shows.

"She set high standards and performed at that level no matter what the role,“ Mr Butler said. ”She was truly outstanding and a joy to work with."

The two showcased Bermuda’s talent in 2012 with the Giant Steps concerts, followed by the Giant Steps Band.

Ms Hartley said of the venture, which used her company My Thyme Productions: “We are very much supportive of employing local musicians and honouring the legends.

“These guys are legends. We want to be able to showcase the many and varied talent we have in Bermuda.”

Mr Butler called her “a shining light” on the stage who was also shrewd in fundraising, with productions through 2012 securing funds to help get the Giant Steps Band performing in Cuba.

He recalled she played “a sterling role” in his 2013 show We are Climbin’ Jacob’s Ladder, which Ms Hartley also co-produced.

A family tribute said: “Her impact is incalculable and her legacy will be carried out in the hearts of all those she touched.

“She was a devout Baha’i and love of Baha’u’llah [founder of the faith], joining the faith in the late 1970s. It was this new-found faith that served as a catalyst for her ceaseless service to her community and country.”

Ms Hartley's broadcast jobs included Cable and Wireless and the Bermuda Broadcasting Company. She also worked in the tourism and education departments.

She created a TV series in 1991, Wake Up Everybody, with her late second husband, Wayne Symonds. Monthly instalments highlighted the community as well as daily life.

Ms Hartley said she had been driven by the need for “locally produced television that was positive and entertaining” as well the need to profile Bermudians.

“There is so much focus on the negative or bad things in the island,” she said.

“We are doing something that would once a month, for half an hour, help people to escape or rise above the mundane type of stuff they have to deal with on a daily basis.”

The couple produced other distinctively Bermudian shows and co-wrote and produced original songs such as Our Heritage.

Later in life, she worked for the Department of Education

In 2006 she married Norris Hartley, who survives her, along with her children Calvin White Jr, Reymon White, Husayn P Symonds and Princess Symonds.

A family tribute said: “If ever there was a person born to entertain, to cheer hearts, to light up a room, it was Darlene.”

• Darlene Roseclare Hartley, an entertainer and producer, was born on October 16, 1954. She died in December 2023, aged 69.