St John volunteer dedicated to end

Paula Clayden - pictured with her children Josh, 12, Bronwyne, 14, and Emma-Jayne, 3 - died at the weekend after a lifetime of service to the Order of St John. Photo / Supplied

Paula Clayden loved being a volunteer at St John and was known for her dedication to the role.

So when she continued studying to become a qualified ambulance officer despite being diagnosed with breast cancer, it was no surprise to those who knew her.

The mother of three, from Snells Beach, near Warkworth, lost her battle with cancer on Saturday. She was 36.

Older brother Bryan Dittmer, a paramedic, said he and his sister had been St John cadets as children and had gone through life being involved with the service.

"She was hard-working, dedicated and loved what she was doing," he said.

"She'd finally [found] a passion and she achieved her goal just before she died."

Ms Clayden was the youth cadet leader at St John Warkworth, working with a group of about 30 children aged between 6 and 18 years old, teaching them various subjects such as first-aid skills.

She was also an on-call volunteer, working day and night shifts.

Just over two weeks ago, she completed a course making her a qualified ambulance officer.

She had been studying towards that for the past 18 months and continued studying when she was diagnosed with breast cancer last November.

"She sat her final exam in the hospice," Mr Dittmer said.

"That's how she was; she was always pretty stubborn, strong-willed and when she was diagnosed, that was it. She just wanted to get it done," he said.

Ms Clayden leaves behind her children Bronwyne, 14, Josh, 12, and Emma-Jayne, 3.

Before she died, she spoke to her children and asked other family members to make sure the youngsters were cared for.

"The older two know and understand," Mr Dittmer said.

"But the little one still asks for mum, even though she knows she's gone to heaven."

Colleague Shaun Greaves, the northwest Auckland district youth manager for the Order of St John, paid tribute to a woman who he said was popular among staff and with young people.

He said it was hard to get volunteers in rural areas such as Warkworth and so having someone as dedicated to her volunteer work was a God-send.

"She ran a very good youth programme and was quite popular with the kids and she was quite good at what she did here," Mr Greaves said.

"She really took our youth programme from strength to strength.

"It is a tough week, but Paula was a lovely lady who passed away leaving a lasting impression on St John."

Family members, friends and colleagues will farewell Ms Clayden at a service in Snells Beach on Thursday.

As well as her children, Ms Clayden is survived by her mother Carol, stepfather John and brother Bryan.