Ms Sood moved from a 25-room house in the Punjab district of Ludhiana to a small flat on an inner-city estate in Leicester with her late husband.
“There were no carpets and no heating and it was snowing. I told my husband ‘I’m not staying here’,” Ms Sood previously said.
“But my granddad told me to make the most of it. He said: ‘Definitely not – I have given you an education, now Leicester is your home and Britain is your country’.
“Now I am glad I stayed.”
Suleman Nagdi, of the Federation of Muslim Organisations, said Ms Sood was “a shining light – a woman of extraordinary compassion, dignity, and unwavering dedication”.
“The void she leaves behind is immeasurable. We have lost a guide, a mentor, and a beautiful soul whose presence made the world a kinder place,” he said.