The ruling Progressive Labour Party and a wide circle of friends and admirers outside the party realms are mourning the passing on Monday of Mrs. Aurelia Burch, a former school principal, a political activist with wide church and community affiliations and involvement.

She served a term as president of the Amalgamated Bermuda Union of Teachers from 1976-78.

Mrs. Burch, a JP, was one of the founding members of the PLP. She was a calm, collected, no-nonsense woman.

As a former chairman and long-serving Central Committee member and party insider, this writer can testify from personal knowledge how Mrs. Burch succeeded with her sustained dignity alone in keeping the PLP on an even keel, consistently confronting its most radical and vocal elements with sound intellectual insights that they had to respect.

PLP's public relations officer Wentworth Christopher, in an initial statement on Mrs. Burch's passing, noted how she joined the party in an era when Bermudians who did so were vilified by the status quo.

"But being a woman of principle she was never afraid to show the PLP flag; and remained committed to its ideal throughout the decades until her death. She displayed her true commitment to the party by standing as a candidate in Paget East for each General Election beginning in 1972 and ending in 1989. Mrs. Burch was indeed a foot soldier for the Progressive Labour Party.

Premier Ewart Brown described Mrs. Burch as "the quintessential lady in the PLP. She demonstrated unusual courage and commitment when she repeatedly ran for the party in a constituency where she didn't stand a chance of winning. Yet, she carried the PLP flag with pride and dignity. We will miss her and her complete understanding of functional unity."

Mrs. Burch was educated at Central School (now Victor Scott School), the Berkeley Institute, Shortwood Teachers College in Jamaica, Queen's University in Canada, and Hull University in England. She undertook professional summer courses, teaching at Toronto University. Her Bermuda teaching career involved Central School, Girls Institute / Prospect Girls School and Harrington Sound Primary, where she was principal for 13 years

Laura Gorham, director of the Bermuda National Gallery, said Mrs. Burch was a much loved and long-time member of the gallery family.

She added in a statement: "She was a member and a volunteer since June 1993, about a year after our founding. She was with us for our first international exhibition ¿ Secrecy: African Art that Conceals and Reveals ¿ in September 1993, helped give some tours, but mostly, we remember her being a stalwart part of the front desk roster.

"She was our Thursday afternoon volunteer for as long as we can remember ¿ over 14 years, retiring only last fall in 2007. Moreover, she loved to travel with us ¿ she came to Toronto to see the Barnes Collection in 1994, to Chicago to see the Monet Exhibition in 1995, and to the Peruvian Amazon over the holidays in 2000 when she was 80. She loved to sing and was a sparkling soprano for our annual Christmas carolling event, and she loved to dance."

She added: "I remember her in her gold blouse dancing (she always was a snappy dresser) on the deck of the riverboat on the Amazon. She was certainly part of my family, as a volunteer, member, traveller, and dear friend. Aurelia will certainly be missed by all of us here at the BNG."

Last rites for Mrs. Burch will be at St. Paul AME Church, Hamilton. She was a lifelong member of the church; was a member of its trustees board; Sunday School superintendent and senior choir member. She held chairmanship of the Richard Eve Estate Committee, which dispensed yearly scholarship awards.