Francesca Helen Reeve (“Sossie”), 1964 -2009

  • 30 Mar 2010 |

This is a short obituary of Francesca Helen Reeve, known to everyone as Sossie, who died on 8 October, after a year and a half long battle with cancer.

Francesca Helen Reeve

Sossie was born in April 1964, the eldest daughter of Peter and Jennifer Reeve and was brought up with her sister Rosie in Chiswick, West London, where they lived overlooking the River Thames at Strand on The Green. After graduating from Sheffield University in 1991, she lived in Bath with her husband Phil Brook and their two children Danny and Lauren.

She studied Landscape Architecture at Sheffield University from 1988-1991, having previously completed an MSc in Microbiology at Darwin College, Cambridge. As a student, Sossie’s natural ability as a designer shone through with a direct, unfussy approach that looked immediately appealing.

While in Sheffield, Sossie spent a year working at Professor Weddle’s Practice with Mike Browell, where she was joined by Phil, who had recently completed an MSc in Landscape Management.

After Sheffield, she went to work for Company of Designers in Bath. She had only been working for them for a few months when they closed down and she was one of only a handful of the original staff that were taken on during the resultant formation of a new landscape practice, Macgregor Smith.

Sossie quickly became an established part of the core team as the new company grew over the following years. She fitted effortlessly into the busy practice environment. Her landscape knowledge, natural design flair and steady demeanour meant that she coped easily with the stress of tight deadlines, tackling each project with professionalism and the minimum of fuss.

Her kind hearted nature ensured that Sossie slotted easily into the social side of the practice, with her spirited and sometimes opinionated nature adding a vibrant edge to the office environment. After several productive years, She eventually left Macgregor Smith to look after her two young children.

For the past five years, she worked for Tim Lynch Associates, in Bradford on Avon, where four of her projects won awards. Her last work was to design a hard and soft landscape scheme for a large care home at Sevenoaks, which Tim handed over to the client on the day Sossie passed away. Tim said the work “had the passion and the practical approach that will make a fitting tribute to a clever and caring person”.

Sossie will be sadly missed by her family, friends and colleagues.

Tom Landell Mills

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