R.I.P. Pamela Dawson-Tasker
Costa Blanca News and the wider community mourns the sad loss of charity stalwart
A DEDICATED supporter of charities, Pamela DawsonTasker BEM – or PDT as she was known to many – passed away on Friday (April 14) at the age of 81.
Her funeral took place on Wednesday at the cemetery in Alfaz del Pi, attended by over a hundred people, showing how she touched many peoples' lives.
She moved to Spain in 1980 and was resident in Alfaz, where she was a familiar face among the locals.
In 1982 PDT started her work with The Royal British Legion (RBL), distributing poppy boxes. She went on to establish the RBL Benidorm Branch. She became a member of the Spain Distrisct North Committee and was always closely involved with the Benidorm Branch, helping raise funds for the annual poppy appeal.
Something many people may not know is that she was one of the original founders of Sporting Alfas Cricket Club in 1995, alongside Andrew Bond and Clive Woodbridge, in collaboration with Alfaz town hall and was president in 2005.
In 2014 she was awarded the British Empire Medal by the British Ambassador in Madrid in recognition of her charitable work.
For 17 years she was president of the Alfaz branch of the Spanish cancer charity AECC. She was heavily involved with fundraising and – having had breast cancer herself 40 years ago - together with the collaboration of the Costa Blanca News
Group and generous donations from the public totalling €300,000, she helped campaign for, and made possible the installation of a digital scanner for breast screening, operated by the AECC in Alicante.
In 2021, PDT made the decision to move on from the AECC and form a local branch of the AACC (Alicante association for the fight against cancer). She regularly organised fundraisers, most recently a solidarity ‘free style’ walk in Alfaz for AACC at the beginning of February to mark World Cancer Day.
A knowledgeable and well-travelled lady, each year she would organise her hugely popular day trip to the Vall de Ebo to see the cherry harvest.
Included would be a spot of sightseeing followed by the much-anticipated lunch at a traditional Spanish restaurant, accompanied by ample glasses of red wine.
She was a regular contributor here at Costa Blanca News, especially in the Social Scene pages, writing
about the importance of regular cancer screening, even organising check-ups for residents in addition to welfare advice to the British expatriate community. She also collaborated in the production of our Care and Welfare Guide.
Pamela was a member of the U3A Marina Baixa committee and was also press officer for them for a time.
But it wasn’t her only foray into journalism, she was often heard debating on the airwaves of OCI Onda Cero Radio until it closed down in 2007.
In 2020, Alfaz town hall created the ‘relevant woman’ award, recognising exceptional women in the community and last year, to celebrate International Women’s Day, it was no surprise that Pamela was one of those selected – the only nonSpanish woman of the six - and presented with a bronze sculpture for her charity work.
Pamela Dawson-Tasker was a pillar of the community and will be sorely missed.
Costa Blanca News Group would like to extend sincere condolences to all her family and friends. We will all miss her – may she rest in peace.