Angela Jean Traskey, aged 86, died at her home in Cockeysville, Maryland, on Saturday, 26 September 2026, with her daughter Jessica beside her.

Angela was born in Hong Kong on 9 January 1940, the daughter of Ian Ross Sarel, an officer in the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm, and his wife, Sybil Ursula Sarel, known as Sue and affectionately as Goggy.

Her early childhood was shaped by the Second World War and her father's naval service. Following her birth, Angela and her mother were evacuated from Hong Kong to Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), where she was christened aboard HMS Kent. Mother and daughter subsequently returned to England on an oil tanker. Looking back many years later, Angela wrote of her mother, “How brave she must have been.”

The war years brought frequent moves, followed by a childhood spent at various schools across England. Angela's memories were full of colourful characters, mischief and humour, from childhood adventures in Dorset to the boarding school where her father, appalled by the hardness of her bed, declared that he would not expect one of his sailors to sleep on it. Happier years followed at St. Teresa's Convent in Effingham, where she formed a lifelong friendship with Sarah Turnbull, affectionately known as Flea.

In 1957, Angela joined the Women's Royal Naval Service, although her enthusiasm was questionable. Asked at her interview why she wanted to join, she replied, “I don't.” Nevertheless, she was accepted! She served at naval establishments in England and in NATO offices in Portsmouth and London. Her shorthand was never her strongest skill, but her experiences provided stories she would recount with great amusement. After leaving the Wrens, she worked for the advertising agency J. Walter Thompson in London and later at the Royal Oak in Yattendon, Berkshire.

In November 1964, Angela travelled to Baltimore, Maryland, to stay with Flea. She found work as a secretary at Johns Hopkins University's Homewood campus, where she met John Peter Traskey, an American studying in the university's Writing Seminars. Her diary entry for 24 April 1965 left little doubt about her feelings: “PETER ASKED ME TO MARRY HIM YES, YES, YES.”

Angela and Peter married on 12 June 1965 at Saints Philip & James Catholic Church in Baltimore. Her mother travelled from England for the wedding, carrying a reel-to-reel recording of the father-of-the-bride speech made by Ian, who had remained at home with Angela's younger sister Diana and brother Nicholas.

Following their marriage, Peter entered the U.S. Army's Military Intelligence Service as a second lieutenant and was posted to Fort Richardson, near Anchorage, Alaska. The newlyweds drove from Maryland to Alaska, a two-week adventure across America. In August 1967, they sailed aboard the Queen Mary from New York to Southampton, returning to England to begin another chapter together.

In 1968, Peter was appointed an English teacher at Milton Abbey School, a boys' boarding school set in the beautiful Dorset countryside. It became their home for thirty-two years and the setting for much of their family life. Their son Simon was born in 1969, followed by their daughter Jessica in 1972.

In 1977, Angela and Peter became house parents of Bancks House, with Peter serving as housemaster. He subsequently became Head of English and later Deputy Headmaster. Angela played an important role in school life, caring for the boys, welcoming parents and colleagues, and working in the school library and later the Porter's Lodge. She was known for her loyalty, kindness, humour, strong opinions and willingness to listen.

Their home was rarely quiet. There were homesick boys to comfort, hungry teenagers to feed, Sunday roasts, hot crumpets at teatime, visiting friends and lively conversations. Angela had a gift for making people feel welcome. As one friend recalled, she “seemed to be a surrogate mother to anyone and everyone.” Company was her lifeblood, and the friendships formed at Milton Abbey endured across countries and generations.

Angela also arranged flowers for school services and friends’ children’s weddings, sewed, knitted, mended and helped with countless practical things. She had a wonderful laugh, a wicked sense of humour, and was certainly no shrinking violet. She cared deeply about people and wanted to know how their lives unfolded.

In July 2000, Angela and Peter returned to Maryland, settling first in a farmhouse in northern Baltimore County and later in Hunt Valley. They brought their familiar hospitality with them, welcoming family, neighbours, old friends from England and new American friends into their home. Peter worked in educational publishing, while Angela enjoyed working at a Hallmark gift shop in Timonium, meeting people and earning a little pocket money of her own.

Following Peter's retirement in 2011, the couple faced many difficult years of illness and treatment. Angela remained steadfastly at his side until his death on 14 January 2021, after more than fifty-five years of marriage.

Losing Peter was enormously painful, but Angela was determined to preserve her independence and remain in her own home. She followed the news, maintained friendships on both sides of the Atlantic and took particular pleasure in hearing about the younger generations of her family. WhatsApp became a wonderful connection to England, bringing news and photographs from the people she loved.

Her faith remained important to her, and she found a spiritual home at Sherwood Episcopal Church in Cockeysville. In November 2025, Jessica and her husband Tim moved next door, allowing Angela to enjoy their company while retaining her independence. She also delighted in visits from their little dog, Bella.

Angela remained recognisably herself throughout her later years: sociable, affectionate, fiercely independent, sometimes wonderfully outspoken and always interested in other people.

Over the years, Angela listened. She fed people. She remembered people. She worried about them. She encouraged them. She wanted their news. She wanted to know what happened next.

She will be remembered with enormous affection by the family, friends, former pupils and colleagues whose lives she touched on both sides of the Atlantic. Angela was predeceased by her beloved husband, Peter (14 January 2021); her younger brother, Nicholas Sarel (8 August 2022); and her grandson, Nicholas Traskey (2 December 2024).

Angela is survived by her son Simon and his wife Lisa; her daughter Jessica and her husband Timothy; her sister Diana Fraser and her husband Hugh; her nephews Jonathan, Edward and Jamie Fraser, and Henry and Charlie Sarel; her nieces Eleanor Newell and Verity Sarel; and her great-nephews and great-nieces.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, 17 October 2026, at 11:00 a.m. at Sherwood Episcopal Church, 5 Sherwood Road, Cockeysville, Maryland.