Joan's story; A life fulfilled

Joan was born in Vancouver Island, Canada, in 1945.

Her father was a logger, so her childhood was spent living in the woods surrounded by nature.

As she lived in a remote location, and the nearest school was over seven miles away, she was homeschooled by her mother using materials sent in from a school in Vancouver. Joan’s mother did well schooling Joan and her siblings from home, but at the age of 10, after realising they needed time to socialise with other children, they moved house and began to attend Port Alberni School.

Starting school came as a bit of a shock to Joan, as she was used to having one-to-one support from her mother, but after making a few friends and getting used to school life, she began to enjoy it. When reflecting on her childhood, Joan said growing up rather isolated from other people stood her in good stead, as she learned how to entertain herself and be happy in her own company.

During high school, Joan found a love for art. She experimented with different types of creative expression but found painting to be one she enjoyed the most. As Joan grew up and received some career advice, she realised there weren’t many career opportunities for artists, and so she decided to keep art as a hobby and pursue a career in Zoology. She attended the University of British Columbia to study Zoology, specialising in genetics.

She found this fascinating but knew she would never be able to work in animal genealogy, as she did not agree with animals being killed for research. So instead, Joan applied for work experience in the Vancouver General Hospital, working under Doctor Miller. She did so well during this work experience placement, that Dr Miller offered her a role in the team.

Joan was delighted with her new role, but life took a different turn when she met a young man at one of her genetics lectures. The pair hit it off, so when he came over to Cambridge to do his post-doc with renowned scientist, Francis Crick, Joan followed him.

They spent four happy years in Cambridge together, but after returning to Canada, they parted ways and Joan returned to Cambridge as she had developed a deep interest in the history of the town.

Joan continued the career she had started in Canada here in the UK, but was always looking for additional hobbies to fill her spare time. So, one weekend, with a desire to sing in a church choir, Joan visited an old English church in her local area. This is where she met the choir master, Colin and after a successful audition, she was welcomed in to join as a soprano.

Joan and Colin’s relationship soon began to develop, and after becoming official they decided to move in together. This was clearly a good decision, as the pair are still together today.

Throughout their relationship, Joan continued her artistic hobbies at home, painting pictures and making stained glass windows. She found this to be a bit of a challenge as her four cats would always try to get involved!

Life took an unexpected turn when Colin was diagnosed with dementia and moved out of their family home to St George's Court Care Home. This was a big change for Joan, but she continued to live life in her own home, visiting Colin regularly and looking after her cats.

After her own health concerns and her house becoming unsuitable to live in, Joan followed Colin a few years later and moved into St George’s Court Care Home where she is living today.

Although life is different now, Joan continues to practice her love of art and has many colorful pieces displayed on her bedroom wall.

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