SHE was the teaching assistant known for her "bubbly" personality in Bitterne Village.

Tiffany Leigh Taylor left a mark on her children Lauryn, 21, and Kyle, 18, after she died at Southampton General Hospital of a short illness.

Her heart stopped while she stayed in the hospital's intensive care unit on August 18, however the cause of death has not yet been confirmed.

Born in Korea while her father was in the US air force, the 45-year-old moved every two years as a child before she decided to settle in Bitterne Village with her children and husband Marcus.

She was half Hawaiian and half English, and left school with no qualifications. However she went on to be a one-to-one teaching assistant to special needs children.

Tiffany spent her last five years working at Weston Park Primary School, Woolston Community Primary School, and Portswood Primary School.

She regularly went on family dog walks with her copper spaniel Marley and visited the waterside at Woolston, where she visited cafe Mettricks.

Tiffany and her family spent four months of the year in Florida, where her father lived.

She had a love of sunflowers and made a ‘21’ shape for her daughter Lauryn’s birthday. Lauryn plans to decorate Tiffany’s funeral with sunflowers.

Her daughter Lauryn said: “Mum was definitely a bubbly person, she chatted to everyone that she could.

“She was just mum, all she ever wanted to be was mum, not a lot of people just aspire to be a mum. That was her, it made her life.”

Her private funeral takes place on Wednesday at Test Valley Park Crematorium, Romsey.

The family have asked for no flowers but for donations instead, which will be split between Cancer Research UK and mental health charity Mind.

To donate, visit funeralguide.co.uk/justgiving/donate/80428/66902.