Mme Paulette Piguet, interpreter and former associate general secretary of the Alliance, died in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Tuesday August 26 2003. Her funeral took place at Le Brassus, Canton of Vaud, on Friday August 29.

The Alliance offers its thanks to God for the life and contributions of Paulette Piguet, and its sincere condolences to the bereaved family.

Paulette Piguet, who has died aged 83, was the first woman to serve the World Alliance of Reformed Churches in an executive post, and one of its longest-serving members of staff.

She joined the World Presbyterian Alliance in Geneva in 1950 as secretary to Marcel Pradervand, then general secretary. But, as Pradervand recalled in A Century of Service, his history of the Alliance's first hundred years, she "soon proved herself to be much more than a secretary". The Presbyterian Alliance's 17th general council (Princeton 1954) recognized this by electing her an executive, with the title of assistant secretary. Later she was made associate secretary.

She was in Nairobi in 1970 when the Presbyterian Alliance united with the International Congregational Council to form the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (Congregational and Presbyterian) and served the united Alliance for a further seven years.

A remarkable linguist, handling the work of the secretariat in five languages, she served the Alliance for 27 years "with much intelligence and devotion" (Pradervand). She was a member of the Swiss Reformed Church.

Alliance general secretary Setri Nyomi describes Mme Piguet as "a gift of God to the Alliance" and emphasizes that "she was not only a pioneer for the Reformed family but an inspiration for the entire ecumenical movement at a time when there were very few women in positions of similar responsibility in any ecumenical or church organization".

Nyambura J Njoroge, first secretary of the Alliance department for partnership between women and men, visited Mme Piguet in her retirement (see Update 7/4, December 1997) and remembers her with great fondness.

"Despite the difficulties she had due to her illness, she was happy to receive us and to share her story during and after her Warc days," Njoroge recalls. "She was a great person. I believe that when the Warc story is analysed and retold she will occupy a significant place, for without her the early seeds that germinated to bear the fruits we now call the department of women and men in partnership would have perished."

Warm tribute was paid to Paulette Piguet at the centennial consultation (St Andrews 1977), when the Alliance said a formal farewell to her both in words uttered and in the form of a standing ovation by participants.

"Paulette Piguet is not only a person of deep piety, but also a good theologian," said the Alliance president elected in St Andrews, James I McCord. "When a lot of nonsense was kicked around, she spoke to us in such a way that we were being called back to our senses".

It was, John Birkbeck reported in Reformed World, a "happy yet emotional farewell to Paulette Piguet retiring from her associate secretaryship after years of unstinted, unrivalled dedication, making her gifts an offering to God [and] her winsomeness, patience and knowledge a blessing to many all over the family of the Alliance and beyond".

It is fitting to give the last word to Paulette Piguet herself.

In a valedictory editorial in the double issue of Reformed World covering the St Andrews consultation, she said this:

"Twenty-seven years is a very long time, but I must confess that it did not seem long. When I started my work, I had just recovered from a three-year illness which hit me a few days after I got my interpreter's degree. I had never heard the word "Presbyterian' and I did not know that I was Reformed! I naively believed that I was a Protestant.

"I had, therefore, a lot to learn, and my first assignment was to read the volumes of Warc proceedings in order to establish an accurate list of member churches. I then read Calvin's Institutes, and finally did my best to follow Dr Pradervand's leadership."

"There were just the two of us in the office and, if I am not mistaken, our annual budget was around 9,000 dollars, including salaries and travel. The roof leaked in the barrack at 17 route de Malagnou, and the floor was not draught-proof. But it was wonderful to see the work grow and to get to know an increasing number of member churches."

"We were surrounded with world maps and, looking at them, we thought of the joys or difficulties of our churches. Though I never met all our correspondents "in the flesh', the continuous exchange of letters and news gave me the feeling that they were very good friends, and I wish to thank them all for this friendship. Our staff increased too in the course of the years, and I am grateful to all my colleagues, past and present, for their friendship and cooperation..."

"I must confess that although I am willing to believe that organization may be necessary, I have less and less faith in organizations, and I hope, therefore, that Warc will remain essentially a family of churches. One of its distinctive features is that its staff is very small and its structures are flexible... Some may consider this a handicap. It is in fact a great asset and prevents the Alliance from becoming an end in itself. My wish, therefore, is that Warc may remain a family, nothing more, and an instrument in the service of its member churches, and to the glory of God."

Páraic Réamonn