My sister Sally Austin Brown, who has died of cancer aged 74, found her vocation in 1978 when she joined Greenpeace and campaigned in the original crew of the Rainbow Warrior, the first of her lifelong actions in the growing environmental movement.
Born in Colchester, Essex, to Pamela (nee Woodhead) and Sq Ldr John Austin, who met whilst serving in the WRAF and RAF, she endured boarding at Redmaids’ school in Bristol. Although she wanted to go to art school, instead she attended Gloucestershire Technical College, where she gained essential O-levels but her artistic interests were unfulfilled.
Aged 18 she trained as a state registered nurse at West London hospital in Hammersmith, then worked in renal care where she met and married Craig Dexter. They divorced a few years later and Sally moved to Cornwall where she lived the rest of her life, starting work in Falmouth hospital on the children’s ward.
When our father John died in tragic circumstances, she lived with Pam for a year, during which time she saw a 1978 television documentary about whaling and Greenpeace. Out of nowhere she found a passion. After writing to express interest she was invited to the London office. Within weeks she had joined the crew of the UK branch’s new flagship, the Rainbow Warrior, then moored in Amsterdam, as nurse and cook, for various campaigns on whaling and nuclear waste. In 1982 commercial whaling was banned worldwide.
Sally foresaw many of the ways in which humanity needs to change if it is to live healthily, peacefully and harmoniously with the natural world. But more than that, she took action, promoting vegetarianism, selling whole foods, fighting harmful developments, reducing plastic consumption and creating healthy cleaning products.
She combined the last two of these in 2005 when she started making natural, non-toxic soap-based cleaners in her shed, first in Falmouth, and later at her home in the village of Devoran. She founded the Ecogenie cooperative with her friend Kate, and they sold their products to refill recycled plastic bottles, using them in house cleaning services and supporting schools and communities in the south-west. After the company closed in 2013, Sally continued to sell her natural soap products.
Sally’s family were everything to her: her loving partner of 40 years, David Brown, their son, Tom, and her stepson, Jon – all three boat riggers – and their wider families. Caring for her grandchildren as well as our mother in her declining years exemplified her selfless commitment to others. Many old friends in her community will miss her dearly. We are all profoundly influenced by her values, which live on through us.
Pam died in 2015. Sally is survived by David, Tom, Jon and me.
