AS the founder of Bristol's Night Shelter, a chairman of the Julian Trust and one of the instigators behind the Caring At Christmas charity, Meg Grimes has quietly left an indelible mark on the city – improving the plight of Bristol's homeless population, perhaps more than any other individual.

But Meg, who died suddenly at the age of 60 last week, was not a woman to seek praise.

"It was never about her," says Meg's eldest son Ben. "She just wanted to sit and talk to people, listen and offer what advice she could, from the homeless to the working girls."

John Rosewell, a current member of the Julian Trust committee, describes Meg as the organisation's "driving force throughout its 25-year history".

This week, the regular weekend cleaning session at the St Paul's night shelter, seems understandably sombre.

The usual half-a-dozen volunteers are gathered at the shelter in Little Bishop Street, mops, brushes and vacuum cleaners in hand, but there is a prominent personality missing.

"Meg always came and spent the morning cleaning the dormitory and kitchen," John says. "We're just trying to get through the pain of our loss, by telling ourselves that we'll keep the work of the night shelter going in Meg's memory. That's what she would have wanted. She was totally dedicated to the charity."

Each evening the shelter opens its doors to the city's homeless – the charity estimates there are around 150 people living rough in Bristol.

"We serve around 80 hot meals each night, and we have 18 beds in the dorm where homeless people can sleep," John explains.

"For 25 years Meg used to come here to help in the soup kitchen every Monday night, she helped clean the place every Friday morning, and she came back in to serve food and hot drinks every other Friday.

"That was quite a commitment, to do that, scarcely without missing a single week, for 25 years.

"She was at her happiest in the kitchen and when talking to homeless guests. She didn't enjoy chairing meetings, and public speaking at the annual meeting was always an ordeal for her.

"The aim of the night shelter has always been to be a helping hand at the bottom rung of the ladder, offering a warm welcome, a friendly face, and a listening ear. Meg was perfect for that.

"She was the type of person who would come up and give people a hug, because she felt they needed a bit of love. But she could be stern when fights broke out – she would always tell trouble-makers to 'step into her office' – which was generally another space a few yards across the dorm.

"Meg's motivation was the same as most volunteers – a sense of compassion for those less fortunate going through difficult times," John adds. "She always insisted we call those who use our service as 'guests' and not clients and treat them as individuals."

In 2001 Meg was awarded the Lord Mayor's Gold Medal in recognition for her contribution to the care for the homeless in the city, and two years ago she was surprised by Noel Edmonds for a Christmas TV show designed to thank those who quietly serve their community.

"I remember Meg's face when she walked into the laundry cupboard and Noel Edmonds jumped out at her. She wasn't keen on pushing herself forward with anything like that – she even avoided having her photograph taken. But it was lovely to be able to thank her in that way."

Meg experienced an unhappy childhood, growing up in Avonmouth. Her mother died when she was eight, and she had a fraught relationship with her father. Married at 18, she had two children – Ben, 41, and George, 38 – and experienced the upheaval of life as an army wife, being stationed all over Europe, before the marriage ended in divorce in the 1970s.

Ben recalls: "She really struggled to bring me and my brother up. But she also fostered four other children while we were growing up in Fishponds. She had three jobs at one point, working as a cleaner and a nurse, trying to keep us all together and keep us in shoes. But she did lose the house as she couldn't afford to keep it."

Meg trained as a nurse but never qualified as she "didn't have the confidence to do the exams," Ben says.

However she found happiness in 1985 with a job at Carrgomm, a sheltered housing project for people suffering mental health issues.

She looked after a 12-bedroom house and lived in a little house next door in Kensington Road, St George. Later that same year she helped set up the Night Shelter.

"She was always doing voluntary work for the homeless and working in soup kitchens as well," Ben says.

"Once she started doing her care work she realised a lot of the people were homeless and there was a need and that is how the night shelter was born."

Despite her long evenings at the night shelter, Meg continued her work with Carrgomm until 2000 when she was given the opportunity to run her own care home, the city council-funded Christmas Lodge, which specialises in housing people with autism, learning disabilities and dementia.

Ben says his mother devoted her life to helping others.

"You couldn't walk through Broadmead with mum without her emptying her pockets and giving my tobacco away," he says. "Then she would go to a cash machine and take more money out to give to people. Somebody always needed something more than she did."

The night shelter named the Julian Trust after Dame Julian of Norwich, whose motto was "To love a human being is to accept him as he is."

"That also describes my mum's outlook on life perfectly," says Ben. "She never judged anyone. One day I turned up and found the Archbishop of Romania was in the lounge. The dog was eating his hat and mum had three homeless guys round."

Her Anglican faith drove her dedication, and Meg was a regular at All Saints' Church in Fishponds for four decades.

"Her faith was important to her," Ben says. "She never lost hope.

"A lot of mum's closest friends were those who had used the shelter and gone into jobs and got flats," he says. "But there have also been a lot of non-success stories too.

"Just last Saturday she went to Liverpool, a few days before she died, to see one of her favourite homeless people who was in prison. She was always sending a tenner to somebody.

"She never gave up on them, she would always keep trying."

Lin Sharp, 45, and her partner Pete Garde, 53, were also helped by Mrs Grimes.

Lin said: "I had been living with my mother but I moved out to be with an ex-partner. When he kicked me out I had nowhere to go. Meg found me living rough in the bus station.

"She told me about the night shelter and told me how I could get help. She made me feel really welcome and I felt I could relate to her – she was so friendly and helpful.

"Everyone thought the world of her."

Ron Jowers, 80, who was previously homeless but now lives in the city centre, said: "She was a very kind lady – I knew her for about 14 years through going to the shelter. She was always joking about and always had a smile on her face."

One man, who only wanted to be identified as Willium, 53, said he had known Mrs Grimes for 30 years.

"She found me stinking in the bus station," he said. "She took me straight to the night shelter and told me to have a shower. Meg helped me get back on my feet because she introduced me to a lady who let me rent a property and found me a job.

"She should be given a sainthood for all the hard work she's done."

Another couple, who only wanted to be identified as John and Linda, from Fishponds, said Mrs Grimes would be sorely missed by the homeless community.

"She was sympathetic – she never looked down on anyone," said John, 50. "Meg would encourage you and always wanted the best for you, whoever you were."

The night shelter has opened a book of remembrance for volunteers and service users to record their memories of Meg.

Her funeral will take place tomorrow at 1pm, at All Saints' Church, Grove Road, Fishponds. It will be followed by a cremation at Westerleigh Cemetery. All welcome.