"My great grandson rang me at 7am [yesterday] to say 'Nana, Shirley Temple has just died' ... It's hard to say how I felt, as she was a big part of my childhood."
Mrs Brake remembers trotting off to Shirley Temple movies as a 6-year-old with her parents, something she kept doing until she was old enough to go to the cinema by herself.
"She was a year older than me ... I just loved her singing and dancing." Temple started her career at the tender age of 3 and won the Juvenile Academy Award in 1935.She remains the youngest person to have won an Oscar.
Her image inspired a various range of merchandise, including dolls and clothing in her early years - but she quit the film industry at just 21 and later went into politics. The American Film Institute ranks her as the 18th-greatest US female movie star.
Although Mrs Brake was feeling sad about Temple's death, she had no time yesterday to dwell on it.
"I've got a friend here today playing Scrabble, so I've got to be on to it to beat her."