Mrs Lord, known for opening her loving home to foster children and for her tireless work at Nowra East Public School, sadly passed away on Saturday, March 5 at age 88.

Mrs Lord and her husband John had two children of their own, but also looked after more than 100 foster children since the 1950s.

The pair were childhood sweethearts, married for 70 years and were known as mum and dad to many around Nowra.

Read more: Nowra community coming together for Violet and John Lord

Mrs Lord's son, Stephen Lord, said she will be remembered for her compassion, especially towards Indigenous children and children living with disability.

"She was always wanting to help people, whether it was babies, children or adults," he said.

"I grew up in a household where the front door was always open. I can remember 20 people having dinner at the table. She wouldn't say no to anyone.

"She always wanted a big family."

Mrs Lord had been a part of the Nowra East Public School P&C Association since the 1960s.

"She'd been active in the school up until not many years ago ... she loved that school," said Stephen.

Mrs Lord established the school's Breakfast Club, where herself and John enthusiastically served free breakfast to over 100 children every day for more than a decade.

A tribute from the school said Mrs Lord will be remembered fondly.

"Violet established the Breakfast Club and spent many hours working in the community garden and caring for many children who attended NEPS," Nowra East Public School said via a Facebook post.

"We know there will be many people in the school community who will remember Violet fondly and we send her family all our love."

In 2013, Mrs Lord's ongoing commitment to local school children saw her recognised with a gold Shoalhaven Medal, the Red Cross Emma Geelan award and the NSW Woman of the Year award.

In 2015, Mrs Lord was rightly honoured as NSW Grandparent of the Year, an award that recognised a grandparent in the state who went above and beyond the traditional role to serve their community.

More tributes flowed online on Monday, with former Shoalhaven mayor Joanna Gash commenting "you did so much for so many people ... your morning teas at speech days were the best".

Shoalhaven councillor Paul Ell wrote "Mrs Lord was one of the most decent community minded people I ever had the pleasure of knowing ... my thoughts are with their extended family".

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