Funeral hearse passes the Sainsbury’s in Angel where Debby ‘Dee’ Robinson became a popular figure

THE funeral hearse carrying Debby Robinson – better known as Dee, the “Queen of Angel” – stopped outside Sainsbury’s in Angel yesterday (Thursday) to pay final respects to the popular woman who had built up a legion of fans there.

Earlier in the day, friends and family of the local personality – known for her smiling face and friendly manner sitting outside the Sainsbury’s in Liverpool Road – took turns inside the Angel Church in Chadwell Street to pay tribute to her, after her death from a heart attack in September.

Among the mourners were her partner Danny, who she had been with for almost 20 years, and two of her sisters and her nieces.

Debby ‘Dee’ Robinson

Danny said: “She was always open, she was just Debby. Everywhere you went, you’d see her, smile on her face, beaming. This is the worst thing that has ever happened to me. I know she’s in a better place.”

Debby’s sisters, Sharon Robinson-Bailey and Dezerine Williams, said Debby had always been a “free spirit” who “did what she wanted, when she wanted, how she wanted”.

Describing how aged just 18 Debby had attended Notting Hill Carnival, and then did not return, Ms Robinson-Bailey said: “We spent weeks looking for her, but in my heart I knew she was OK. From then on, she popped up every now and then, so we knew she was alive, even though I think that’s when we lost her.”

A friend described how Debby met a man at Carnival that year and went on to have three daughters. They were later adopted by Debby’s family.

Reading out a message sent to her by a family member who helped raise Debby’s children, Ms Robinson-Bailey said: “Deborah, there are no words to truly thank you for the precious gift that you have given to us. You can now look down from heaven and know what special joys you have caused and see just how beautiful, loved and treasured [your children] are.”

Ms Robinson-Bailey – one of four of Debby’s sisters – said her three daughters had “grown up beautifully and had done extremely well”.

She also paid tribute to Hayley Mold, who raised just under £3,000 through a GoFundMe page in the wake of Dee’s death, and said the outpouring of love shown for her sister by the community had been a comfort for the family.

“Even though we couldn’t help her, it’s good to know she was loved. To find out how loved she was by the Islington community brought peace to our hearts.”