Tributes poured in to The Royal Gazette last night from the local arts community, friends, colleagues and others following the passing of journalist Patricia Calnan, who lost her battle with cancer on Saturday.

Miss Calnan was a highly respected writer and reviewer whose knowledge of the arts gave her work a unique depth. She was also an unfailing supporter of dance and theatre in Bermuda.

“We are going to miss her terribly,” Mrs. Marjorie Stanton, president of the Gilbert & Sullivan Society said. “She was a wonderful journalist and friend who supported us wholeheartedly. She didn't just come once to our productions but three times - first to the dress rehearsal, again on opening night, and always on the final night. She loved talking to people at the post-production parties and her networking was wonderful. An important voice on the arts scene has been lost.”

Born in London on June 28, 1939, Miss Calnan's love of ballet began in childhood when she studied with Marjorie Barton, and was further developed by visits to three of Britain's top ballet companies: The Royal Ballet, Festival Ballet, and Ballet Rambert, where she befriended many of the dancers and critics. She also enjoyed researching the history of dance, and in particular choreography.

Her association with ballet in Bermuda began in the 1960s when she first joined and danced with the Ballet Workshop, and later became a founder-member of its successor, the Bermuda Ballet Association.

“Patricia was always very interested in dance. She was very helpful and supportive, and wrote some wonderful articles. She will be sadly missed,” said former dancer and owner of the Russian School of Ballet, Mrs. Patricia Gray.

Similar sentiments were expressed by the musical director of the St. John's Youth choir and heritage concerts, Mrs. Marjorie Pettit.

“Pat will be an incalculable loss to the arts scene in Bermuda. She was so wonderful in encouraging so many young people. On a personal level, I will miss her sense of humour. She was a very close friend.”

In recalling his long friendship with the late journalist, music teacher and organist Mr. William Duncan said the two had shared the same sense of humour and an enduring friendship for more than 30 years. During their mutual employment at Saltus Grammar School, Miss Calnan voluntarily assisted with the choreography for several productions.

“I admired her enormously,” Mr. Duncan said. “She wrote with heart and sensitivity about the arts.”

Miss Calnan came to Bermuda in 1961 to work for the Shell Oil Company, where she was the youngest employee the oil giant had ever posted overseas. Subsequent employers included Sir Harold Mitchell, Mr. Fred Reiss and Continental Insurance.

In 1962 she married Mr. Eric Pedro and had two sons, Sean and Nicholas. The late journalist's early introduction to writing came through regularly attending plays, musicals and dance productions in her native London, where she was spotted by leading arts critics of The Daily Telegraph, The Times and the Mirror, and taken under their wing.

In Bermuda Miss Calnan wrote for various publications on a freelance basis for decades before becoming The Royal Gazette's main freelance reviewer in 1980 following the retirement of Miss Marian Robb. In October, 1991 she joined the newspaper as a full-time reporter on the Lifestyle section, and also became its resident arts reviewer. In January, 1999 she joined the Mid-Ocean News as a general news and feature writer.

At the time of her death she had completed a book on the Bermuda railway, publication of which was pending, and was in the process of writing two others.

Speaking on behalf of Miss Calnan's fellow employees, The Royal Gazette editor William Zuill said: “Pat was a fine writer, especially of features and reviews, and won a number of Ridgway Awards for her work. When her passion for the arts, and especially dance, coincided with her passion for good writing, the results were extraordinary.

“I also think she deserves some credit for the flowering of so many forms of fine and performing arts that have taken place in Bermuda in the last decade or so. Without her well-informed writing about many new artists, it is hard to imagine that the community would enjoy such a vibrant arts scene today.

“All of us at The Royal Gazette offer our profound condolences to Pat's family. We shall miss her deeply as a colleague and as a friend.”

These sentiments were echoed time and again, among them by Mrs. Laura Gorham, director of the Bermuda National Gallery, and visiting British theatre director, Miss Jane McCullough.

“Patricia supported whatever the Bermuda National Gallery was doing from the very beginning. We have really lost one of Bermuda's treasures, and certainly one of the greatest assets in Bermuda's arts world. You cannot replace the knowledge and love of the arts that Patricia had. She was a great friend of the Gallery,” Mrs. Gorham said.

From the moment Miss McCullough first met Miss Calnan a decade ago, when she came to direct a Bermuda Festival production, the pair established an instant rapport, both professionally and personally.

Presently in Bermuda to direct Shakespeare's ‘Love's Labour's Lost' for the Bermuda Musical & Dramatic Society, Miss McCullough said she was “devastated” at the loss of her friend.

“Patricia's death is a great loss to the Island. She was so creative and so clever, and she had a great literary style. She was a wonderful writer. When I first came to Bermuda she gave me a wonderful review, and I said I had to meet her because she was the first person who understood what I was trying to do. We instantly became great friends, and you could talk to her, not just about theatre, but any subject because her interests were so varied. She was a Bermuda treasure who is irreplaceable. I feel a huge loss, and am so thankful that I had an opportunity to visit her before she died and tell her all about the play I am doing this time. I am also dedicating its first performance to her memory.”

Speaking as president of the Bermuda Musical & Dramatic Society, Ms Adrienne Hintz paid tribute to Miss Calnan's unfailing support of that organsation's endeavours, and particularly those which were innovative.

“She was highly in favour of new and different productions, and actively encouraged them,” Ms Hintz said. “If we got a good review from Patricia we knew we had done a good job because she was honest. Her death is a great loss to the theatre community, and our deepest condolences go out to her family.”

Equally devastated was assistant director of the Masterworks Foundation, Elise Outerbridge.

“Pat had such a really unique and amazing understanding of the involvement of art in Bermuda. Where the Masterworks Collection was concerned, she was astounding. I have never met a person with a more succinct understanding of what makes Bermuda tick than Pat Calnan. She had her finger on the pulse of dance, art and politics, and her wry sense of humour always made every meeting with her enjoyable. She was always a kick. When we were writing ‘The Masterworks Bermudiana Collection' book, I had never met anyone more meticulous over details and wanting to discuss things on a higher level. Pat didn't care if her questions were so probing that they hurt you. All she cared about was getting to the truth, and that is what made her a great journalist and an even better writer. Tom (Butterfield, Masterworks Foundation director) and I are only sorry that she wasn't given time to write a great book about art in Bermuda, which was her one of her nearest and dearest projects. I don't know how she will ever be replaced for there is no-one with such an understanding of the whole picture.”

Perhaps former UBP Premier Sir John Swan summed up the tributes for everyone when he said: “Pat was always a woman of indomitable spirit, who was committed to giving of herself. Through my association with her I learned a lot. Particularly in recent years we have come together in trying to convey to Bermuda our concerns about issues. She was a highly intelligent individual who grasped information and successfully conveyed it to the public. She always had a big love for Bermuda, and that is conveyed through her two sons and their commitment to their fellow man.

“Pat had a passion for service organisations and what they were doing, and what people were doing, and she wrote about them so well. She always encouraged you to be a better person, and she had no bias or prejudices. She was a person for all seasons and believed in her principles. Lady Swan and I shared a special relationship with Pat that went back to our days in the Jaycees (where she was once the president) and we will always remember her for her commitment to community service and her always affectionate expressions. Her body is gone but her spirit remains because you are remembered by your deeds, and her deeds were always good.”

In fact, Miss Calnan worked quietly behind the scenes for many years, using her talents as a writer to assist many charitable organisations, including The Council Partners Charitable Trust and Fairhavens.

In addition to her sons, she is survived by brothers Michael and John, sister Sheila, daughters-in-law Marcie and Neisha, granddaughters Chelsea, Madison and Austin, and grandson Dylan.

Her funeral will take place tomorrow at St. John's Church, Pembroke at 1 p.m.