I am writing this tribute to Joy on behalf of my family
My name is Janet, my dear Mum, Marion (Twyford sadly deceased) and Joy were friends at Avery Hill College in the 1950’s. Joy and Mum remained friends and even after we as a family emigrated to Australia in 1967 their friendship continued firstly through letters and phone calls and later by holidays to the UK which always included a visit to Joy.
After my Mum passed away Dad, myself and my husband Joe, visited Joy during a holiday to England, this was the first time that I had met Joy although I knew Joy’s name as one of Mums friends and had seen photos of her, it was so lovely to meet her in person. She welcomed us so warmly, she told us stories of their time at Avery Hill, we had lots of laughs, told lots of stories and shed a few tears. It was so lovely hearing Joy talk about my Mum too and that person she was and the friendship they had. By the time we left in the afternoon, I felt I had known Joy for many years, and I personally enjoyed so much being in her company.
On leaving Joe and I vowed we will visit again, which we did in March last year.
Words cannot express the sadness I felt on the passing of Joy, and I know my Dad was saddened by the news, he will dearly miss their chats on the phone and the exchanging of gifts at Christmas time.
We will always remember Joy with much fondness.
John and Colin Twyford, Janet (nee Twyford) and Joe Hines
Goodbyes
are not forever
Goodbyes
are not the end
They simply mean
we’ll miss you
Until we meet again Author unknown
Janet Hines
11/02/2025
