Evette Rowe (pictured, far right), who died on 4 July 2026 aged 48, was a Band 7 extended scope podiatrist in the high-risk foot and a therapeutic footwear specialist at Homerton Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

She had an exceptional knowledge of the high-risk foot and was known for her innovative and creative approaches to offloading, helping many patients to heal and avoid amputation.

A graduate of the University of Southampton, she went on to complete postgraduate training in therapeutic footwear. It was a field that would become one of her great professional passions. 

Rowe believed therapeutic footwear had a much greater place within podiatry. Her interest in the subject led to her becoming vice-chair of the Royal College of Podiatry's Therapeutic Footwear Specialist Advisory Group, a position she held with pride until her death. 

She threw herself into the role. Several of her contributions were accepted for this year's annual conference programme and, earlier this year, she learned that she would become a first-time speaker at the event in November. 

She was understandably proud of the news and, colleagues recalled, could not stop talking about it at work. 

At Homerton, she was not only a practising podiatrist but a teacher, sharing her knowledge of diabetic foot assessment and vascular assessment of the lower limb with colleagues. 

Her patients benefited from that generosity too. She believed strongly in educating people about their feet and the importance of diabetic foot care. 

But those who knew Rowe would have found it difficult to describe her solely in terms of her professional achievements. 

She was striking, and indefatigable with it – fantastic hairstyles, eye-catching clothes and a sense of style and humour entirely her own. 

For friends and colleagues, those things were not simply matters of appearance. They reflected something of the creativity and individuality that ran through both her life and her work.

The same imagination that went into creating an offloading solution for a patient could be found in her love of music and style, and in her deep commitment to individuality. 

That Rowe loved house music would be to understate it. Friends remembered the sound of it blaring from her car on the way to home visits. 

And the music did not stop when she arrived at work. She would bring that energy into the clinic, where she danced constantly.

Friends and colleagues also remembered her ability to brighten a room. She was known for her kindness, generosity and sense of humour, qualities that made an impression wherever she worked. 

Her generosity extended to the everyday things too. She had a finely tuned knowledge of where to find the best bargains and was more than happy to share it, saving colleagues money along the way. 

In her professional life, Rowe believed that knowledge was something to be shared. She taught colleagues, educated patients and contributed to the development of therapeutic footwear through her work with the College. 

It was a commitment that ran through her career – to know more, to find better ways of helping her patients and to pass that knowledge on to others. 

She is survived by her husband, their son and her father and brothers. 

• Evette Rowe, podiatrist specialising in high-risk foot and therapeutic footwear; born 20 August 1977; died 4 July 2026. 

Funeral and donations 

At the request of Evette's family, we are publishing the following details of her funeral and wake. 

Her funeral will take place on Friday 28 August 2026 at 2pm at the City of London Cemetery, Aldersbrook Road, London E12 5DQ. 

The wake will follow from 3pm onwards at Alderbrook Bowls Club, 34 Aldersbrook Road, Aldersbrook, London E12 5DY. 

The family have requested that people do not send flowers.  

Instead, those who wish to remember Evette are invited to donate to one of her chosen charities: 

• Arch Support, the benevolent fund for the Royal College of Podiatry supporting practitioners and students experiencing hardship.  

• The Laura Hyde Foundation, which provides independent mental health support to healthcare and NHS workers. 

Those wishing to make a donation can do so through Evette's memorial page. 

Funeral and donation information published at the request of Evette's family.