IT is not the recognition or awards for her community service, but the number of people community volunteer Colleen Julian touched and helped that she is remembered for.

Her family said Colleen's journey "was not the focus for her, it was how others were making it, and easing their way that was her task".

Colleen passed away recently after a battle with breast cancer.

She was raised in a small country town in Northland New Zealand, Hikurangi. She was one of six siblings, the youngest of the three girls.

Colleen met her husband Barry while living in Glenfield, Auckland. She followed her heart to move with him to the bottom of the South Island.

Her first job was in Auckland as a copywriter, which she left when she started a family.

The couple eventually started their own shearing contractor business in Dipton, an hour out of Invercargill in Southland.

Colleen juggled working alongside Barry in the business and driving the children to their out of school activities, which in the country were some distances.

She also managed to find the time to attend Country Women's Association meetings, pottery, spinning, doll making, bear making, cake icing and many other community activities. She had a long term commitment to the NZ Labour party along with Barry and their family, taking part in fundraising and conferences.

Education and a sense of community were important to Colleen. She encouraged her three children to do as well as they could at school and participate in their community.

Colleen was not afraid of hard work and was the driving force behind fundraising for her children's sports groups, and she would be the committee member making sure everyone was pitching in.

There were many times her children would be delivering casseroles, plucking chickens or babysitting because Colleen knew someone needed a hand.

Christmas dinners were shared with the backpackers passing through and working with the shearers.

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Not everyone in the small farming community felt as Colleen did about her politics and belief in education to have success at that time in the '60s

Colleen was an excellent cook, and her dinner parties were always a local favourite for that reason

The couple moved to Perth 20 years ago to be closer to her youngest child and grandchildren, where she worked as a corporate cleaner and later as an administrative officer. They moved to Ipswich in 2002, buying a home in One Mile to be closer to her sister Jean who later passed away after a battle with breast cancer.

She herself was diagnosed with breast cancer. While in Ipswich she continued her strong sense of community spirit, working tirelessly to support others with the same diagnosis.

After many years in remission, breast cancer returned along with secondaries, but this did not stop her.

She continued her volunteer work at the Ipswich Hospital; she continued to run the Wig Library and create the pamper packs and fundraising for the Ipswich Breast Cancer support group. The community work only stopped just two months before she passed.

To the end she was bitingly funny, even when in hospice she would have a dig to try to make you laugh.

Tributes flowed from West Moreton Hospital and Health Service and Ipswich Hospital Foundation.

A statement from WMHHS said Colleen served the Ipswich community she called home for more than a decade, lending a helping hand to those who needed it most through her volunteer work at Ipswich Hospital.

"Colleen was a vibrant personality and she enjoyed connecting with our patients and sharing their stories."

Ipswich Hospital Foundation executive officer Tom Yates said Colleen was "a true ambassador" for the Ipswich Hospital Foundation.

"Colleen was a driving force, providing patients with extra care and support even through her own suffering," he said.