Tribute to Bury St Edmunds ice cream seller Diane Foldi who helped husband run Mister Softee Special van on Angel Hill

Tribute has been paid to a Bury St Edmunds woman who helped run a popular ice cream van with her husband for more than 50 years.

Diane Foldi, who died aged 79 on February 23, was a familiar face on Angel Hill where she and her husband Sándor (Alec) served thousands of people from the Mister Softee Special van.

Her son Peter, who now runs the business, said: “She liked being on there because she got to see people and talk to people. It was the people she enjoyed.”

Born in Bury, Diane attended Silver Jubilee Girls School and held a number of jobs including working at a corner shop, fish and chip shop and a wool shop.

She met Sándor in Bury when he was selling ice creams from his van during one of his rounds in Bury.

They were married for 55 years.

Sándor started his business in 1962 in Ipswich and made his van on Angel Hill a permanent fixture in 1966.

Peter said: “I remember finishing school and walking straight down to the Hill to meet them.

“She sold ice creams and I remember in the old vans there was an engine on the back that ran the machine and that had to be stripped down every year. I remember her stripping that down with my dad.”

Diane, who enjoyed knitting and embroidery, stopped being involved with the business around the time of the Covid pandemic.

Peter took over on a permanent basis about 15/16 years ago but his dad, 93, still tries to be involved.

“For the first five to 10 years he still went down and did an hour every day – he loves it,” he said.

“During Covid I slipped out of the van and fractured my ankle so I couldn’t drive it. He took the van down and stayed there for about an hour. He would still do it if he could.”

Peter shares the site with Abbey Town Ices.

Diane’s funeral will be held at West Suffolk Crematorium on Wednesday, March 20 at 3pm in St Edmunds Chapel.