Alison Aitken, affectionately known as the Queen of Canberra, has died at 96-years-old.
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Mrs Aitken has lived in Canberra since before Lake Burley Griffin became a feature.
She was widely known for her impeccable style and love of hats. And for having lunch with her son at the Kurrajong Hotel in Barton every second Thursday for almost two decades.
But her crowning glory was her work with the Australian War Memorial for almost 50 years.
Director of the Australian War Memorial Matt Anderson said Mrs Aitkin's style and charisma had left a mark on thousands of visitors during her service as a volunteer tour guide.
The dedicated woman was part of the first intake of guides in 1976.
"While her stride may have shortened since her first tour of the Memorial some 50 years ago, her drive to remember stories of Australian service never waned. Long after her time as a guide concluded, Alison continued to attend the Memorial as a visitor and regular attendee of commemorative ceremonies," Mr Anderson said.
"Alison's life was personally touched by war. Her brother, Flying Officer Colin Flockhart, was killed when his Lancaster bomber crashed over northern France in 1945; he was 20 years old. Alison was affected by Colin's loss for the rest of her life.
"Colin's final letter to Alison and her family is part of the Australian War Memorial's National Collection. The Memorial also had Colin's words engraved in the stone walkway at the International Bomber Command Memorial in Lincoln, England. This was something Alison was very proud of."
Mrs Aitken was awarded an OAM for her years of voluntary work in 2020.
Before she was the Queen of Canberra, Mrs Aitken was born in Sydney, where she grew up with her parents and two older brothers. In her lifetime, she saw the Great Depression, and both of her brothers head overseas to fight during World War II.
After marrying her husband John and having their first son, the young family moved to south for John's job in the Department of Army, first to Melbourne and then Canberra in the early 1960s. The couple would end up having three children.
When asked by The Canberra Times in 2018 what the secret to longevity was, she replied:
"I have a saying life is beautiful when you surround yourself with beautiful people, and I've always been most fortunate to have my parents, my brothers, and then my beautiful husband and my three sons."
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