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Information contained in these pages is intended for genealogical research only,
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Ronald Peter Ainsworth and Joan Victoria Fuller © Born on the 25th March, 1926, at 85 Russell Road, Wimbledon1, Ronald Peter was the youngest child and fourth son, of Annie (nee Clark) and Henry Edward Ainsworth. Shortly after his birth, the family moved to 39 Sydney Road, Raynes Park, Merton and Carshalton, Surrey Mid-Eastern, England. Known as 'Pete' from an early age he attended Whatley Avenue Infants School, Raynes Park and then West Barnes Lane Bushy Central Primary School, also at Raynes Park. Not much is known of Peter's early years, however family story tells that Pete, being the youngest, was always up to something and often on the receiving end of a good talking too. According to his older brother Ray, Peter didn’t much like school and looked for any excuse to not attend. Ray recalled a time when, as he took Peter along to sell Green Grocery, Peter hid under a sack of potatoes on the back of Ray's horse & cart to avoid the school board officer who was looking for him. Ray also remembers that when he married, they couldn’t really afford a wedding cake, so his mother went to the baker and purchased a birthday cake, which she re-iced. However, young Peter upset the party when he told everyone it wasn’t a real wedding cake as he had seen his mum re-ice a birthday cake, this apparently led to a clip around his ear from brother Ray. Leaving school early in 1940 Peter went to work for Foxborough and Yoxall, an engineering firm in Wimbledon. After a couple of years, he then found employment as a cinema projectionist, first with the Elite Theatre in Wimbledon, then with the Odeon Cinema situated at Shannon's Corner, Raynes Park. At the age of 17, on the 12th October, 19432, Peter enlisted in the Royal Navy. Assigned to HMS Collingwood, the training base in Farnham, Hampshire, he was transferred to active service in December the same year, as an Ordinary Seaman. Peter served on many ships during WWII, including: Europa; Baldur; Pembroke; Fortitude; Newfoundland; and Lanka, most of which were British Y Class Mine-sweepers. These ships and the men serving were actively involved in a very dangerous task, that of keeping major shipping lanes in Middle Eastern, Asian and Australian waters free of mines. Peter saw service in the waters around Australia, Iceland, Belgium, Bombay, North Africa, the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, Sri Lanka, Sumatra, Malaya and New Guinea. Promoted to Able Seaman in July 1944, Peter continued to serve until the 9th May 1947. According to his Medal Card, on his released from the Navy Peter was paid the War Service Bonus and was eligible for several war service medals: 1939-45 Star; Defence Medal; War Medal; and one which was for serving on Minesweepers. He was also awarded the Minesweeper Medal, in 1954, this is the only medal I have seen. Peter never spoke a great deal about his time on the ships during the War, but he did indicate he enjoyed visiting many of the places, which is somewhat supported by a few of his photographs, and he always indicated Australia was the most favoured place he visited. Shortly after his return from active service, Peter accepted an invitation to a party from his childhood friend and neighbour, Peggy Fuller, and in doing so his life changed dramatically. It was at this party that he met his future wife, Joan Victoria Fuller, Peggy’s older sister. Pete & Joan, almost immediately according to Pete, fell in love and six weeks later, on the 5th July, 19473 they married, at the Register Office, Surrey North-Eastern District, England. They were married by License before E. Phillips and S. A. Fussell, Registrars. The witnesses being F.K. Wright, believed to be Peter's sister Florence and E. J. Fuller, Joan's father Edwin. Peter was a 21 year old Bachelor, his occupation a Porter (Hospital), his place of residence at the time of his marriage was his family home at 39 Sydney Road. His father is named as Henry Ainsworth, a House Decorator (Journeyman). Joan was age 20, a Spinster, occupation Saleswoman (Shoes), her place of residence No. 2 Cottage, A.E.L.T.C. Somerset Road. Her father is given as Edwin John Fuller, Head Groundsman. Joan was the first child of Edwin John Fuller and Florence Ethel Victoria (nee Atkins)1. Born on the 24th May, 1927, at 9 Westbury Road, New Malden, Surrey. Joan's birth was registered by her Mother on the 30th June, 1927, her father’s occupation was given as Sports Groundsman and the family home address recorded as 71 Cannon Hill Lane, Merton. She was baptised the following month in the Malden Methodist Chapel. Unfortunately Joan didn't get to know her mother very well as shortly after her sister Peggy was born in 1929, Florence died4. After her mother's death Peggy was fostered out to a sibling of her mother's, and Joan and her father Edwin, lived with her paternal grandparents, Richard & Florence Fuller, at 131 Blagdon Road, New Malden. Joan attended Blagdon Road Infants School, New Malden, and later Queens Road Primary School, Wimbledon. In 1936, family postcards indicate Joan was laid up for three weeks following a very bad bout of the flu. Another later postcard show she was to suffer another bad bout of illness later in 1936. Around 1937 the family, consisting of Joan, her father Edwin and her grandmother Florence, her grandfather Richard had died in 1935, moved to No. 2 Cottage, Somerset Road, Wimbledon, Kingston, Surrey, England. This cottage was one of two detached cottages which were part of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, Wimbledon, where her father worked. While living at A.E.L.T.C. Joan had the privilege of meeting Princess Elizabeth and her sister Margaret, when they came with their father King George to the Wimbledon Tennis Tournament, and they visited the house to see Joan's father's rabbits. Not long after her father’s death, these cottages were turned into work sheds and storage facilities, and unfortunately, the cottages have since been demolished. At the start of World War II when London began to suffer bombing raids, Joan's father made moves to send her to his relatives in Canada for safety, but Joan refused to go. It is though this relative was possibly her aunt Florence Higgins nee Atkins. Leaving school at the age of 15, Joan worked as an apprentice draper’s assistant. She remained at this job until she enlisted in the Women's Land Army towards the end of the war. Stationed in country areas of Sussex, around Horsham, Joan really enjoyed carrying out a variety of the many necessary tasks involved in general farm-work, which ensured continued supply of fresh farm produce in the time of war. Unfortunately, the heavy labour took its toll and Joan injured her hand quite badly, making it difficult for her to continue working on the land. After being invalided out of the Land Army, Joan secured a job in a shoe shop as a sales assistant, it is believed this shop was managed or owned by one of her cousins. During the late 1990s the British Government decided to award surviving Land Army Girls a Medal to commemorate their valuable war service6. Joan knew nothing about this award, so her daughter Yvonne quietly applied on her behalf. The Medal was duly awarded and sent to Joan in Australia in 2005. Joan was very moved when she received this award. At the time of their marriage Peter was working as a hospital porter at the Nelson Hospital, Merton, Merton and Malden, later moving to the Atkinson Morley Hospital, Wimbledon. With housing at a premium after the war, following their marriage Peter and Joan lived in an upstairs room of his mother’s house at 39 Sydney Road, Raynes Park. Then shortly after the birth of Yvonne, their first daughter, Joan’s father secured a job for Peter in a Nottinghill Gate Private Tennis Club. With this job came a small flat, and Peter & Joan were excited at the prospect of their first home together. Unfortunately, the job didn’t work out, it proved to consist of long hours for very little pay for Peter, and Joan was also expected to spend long hours doing the cooking and cleaning for the club, a very difficult task with a young baby to care for. Added to this the flat that they thought held so much promise was in fact extremely small, damp and dingy, no place to bring up a small baby. Before long Joan and their daughter Yvonne moved in with Joan's father, however there was little room to spare in the small cottage, so Peter moved into the local YMCA as they looked for somewhere else to live. With so many men leaving the services housing was still in short supply, but ever-resourceful Peter soon located an old disused Army Barracks, just a short distance from Sydney Road, on the Kingston-by-pass. Many families of returned servicemen had utilized the deserted Nissan Huts, which were part of the earlier Army Barracks, as family accommodation until more suitable housing was allocated. As one hut was empty, Peter claimed it, and in 1949 moved his small family in while they waited for council housing. They were to stay in that hut for over two years until, early in 1952, when they were finally allocated a council house at 33 Claremont Avenue, New Malden. By this time Peter & Joan had two more daughters, Sandra and Linda. When Peter & his family lived at 33 Claremont Avenue, there was a hedge at the front which enclosed a garden and a small lawn. There was also a side fence on which Joan and the neighbour grew roses. The back was fenced off, between the front and back doors, and in the back garden there was a fish pond, a lawn and in the far back right hand corner a very large white cherry tree. Today with increased car ownership, most front gardens are paved or concreted over. Around the same time as they moved into the Army hut, Peter took a job at Dekka Radar, in their facility in nearby Bushy Road, as an assembler. Working hard, attending Technical College and learning fast Peter strove to better him-self in order to provide an improved life for his wife and growing family. Peter was the life of all the social activities of the company and loved nothing better than to dress up as a clown to entertain the children (and adults) at staff function, and birthday or Christmas parties. During the following years Peter rapidly moved from assembler to engineer, and was finally appointed as a Liaison Engineer with Dekka Radar. However, this entailed quite a lot of travel, and long hours away from his family. Peter didn’t much like leaving his family for long periods of time and early in 1958 he decided to change career direction. Together Peter and Joan took over the running of a small greengrocer’s shop (now a Coffee Shop) on the corner of Ephra & Ashley Roads, Wimbledon, with the family moving into the spacious accommodation over the shop. During this time Peter also ran a mobile green grocers van, and was known for his regularity no matter what the weather. I can remember one particular day when the fog was so thick we could hardly see our hands in front of our faces, but to Dad it made no difference he had people who were depending on his visit for their fruit and vegetables, so off we went. No wonder it wasn't long before family finances had improved greatly, and Peter and Joan were looking to buy a house to secure their family's future. During the latter part of 1959, Peter and Joan decided a move to the country was in order. So they moved the family to Colchester, in Essex, where they had purchased the right hand part of a duplex home, known as Lavender Cottage, in Curds Road, Earles Colne. Once settled in their new home, Peter and Joan both found work at the local foundry. Peter in the engineering section, with Joan on the production floor. But before long the cost of living and dissatisfaction of their employment, Peter, who constantly had 'itchy feet', was again entertaining his long held dream of immigrating to Australia. He had visited Australia a few time during the war and had then and there decided that was where he eventually wanted to bring up a family. With Joan's support, Peter applied to Australia House in London in early 1960 for permission to join the program to emigrate, and it wasn't long before Peter and his family found them-selves on the way to thier new life. While waiting for travel details to be finalized Peter and Joan sold Lavender Cottage, and the family were given permission to move back into his mother's empty house at 39 Sydney Road to await the start of their journey. His mother has moved into a Nursing Home earlier in the year and the house had not been sold or re-assigned at that stage. Finally travel details arrived and, on the 21st June, 19615, the family made their way by train into Waterloo, London, to catch the Boat Train which conveyed passengers from Waterloo Station to Southampton Station, which was alongside the Southampton Docks, where great ocean going liners berthed. Once the family arrived at the dock, they, along with many others, boarded the HMS Fairsea. I can remember much of the train journey and in particular the sight of our quite large Aunt Floss, whose house backed onto the railway line, hanging out of an upstairs window to wave us goodbye, and her husband Uncle Ted and their son Ted, who both worked on the local railway, standing on the side of the railway line also to wave us goodbye. The voyage held many trials for the family, Joan suffered terribly from sea-sickness for most of the journey and the sleeping arrangements placed all women and children in cabins on separate decks from the men. This meant the family had little time to spend together, as passengers were not allowed on to the other gender decks. Joan and the girls were in a very large cabin with about 10 other females of varying ages. Peter was on another deck in a 6 berth cabin. Even meal times were not ideal as children younger than 13 had separate times to eat away from the adults. However, there were some highlights along the way: the excitement and interest at our first port of call, Port Said, with the masses of Egyptian traders rushing the ship to try and get passengers to buy their wares; travelling through the Suez Canal; an on-shore visit to Aden in Egypt, where we were warned to only drink Coke and avoid eating at the many road side stalls; and an exciting 'Crossing the Equator' party’. The ship also went very close to a Monsoon in the Indian Ocean. This monsoon caused extremely rough seas and very high waves which prompted an unsuccessful plea by many passengers to call in to the port at Perth, where many indicated they wished to leave the ship. However, ports of call and disembarkation arrangements had already been finalized before the Fairsea left Portsea, England, and these could not be changed. The ship finally reached Adelaide on 21st August, 19615. At this point in the voyage the number of passengers was greatly reduced, but Peter and Joan had already decided they wanted to settle in Brisbane so they continued on. As the numbers staying on the ship were much smaller most families were again reunited, so Joan and the girls were sent to join Peter in his cabin and the family finally disembarked in Brisbane a few days later. Taken to the Colmslie Emigration Centre, Peter and Joan set out to find work and establish their family's new life. Peter's first job in Australia was not all that he had hoped for, instead of the promised engineering position, he was assigned to sweeping the floor at a local cement company. This didn't last long and he soon found employment as an assembler with an engineering firm in Gaythorne. However, he became frustrated with the monotony of this position, so different from what he had become used to in England, and he decided to look for a more promising position. Also during the early 1960's people from England found many Australians didn't want to accept 'Poms' into their circles, and this made life rather difficult at times, especially for a proud and highly social man like Peter. After a short while in the Migrant Hostel, Peter decided to find alternative housing for his family. Moving out of the Colmslie Hostel, the family first stayed at a Caravan Park in the southern suburbs of Brisbane while they looked for a house. Before long Peter had located and purchased a small block of land at Gaythorne, where he planned to build a home. He had acquired a small caravan for the family to live in, but he soon found this not what he wanted and sold the block in order to purchase a larger block at Greenbank, on which he planned to build a house. Moving the family on to the land in Greenbank in the caravan was also not as successful as hoped. The land was isolated, had no water or electricity connections and was many miles from public transport, schools and shops. So Peter sold this block, moved the family into another caravan park and made application for Commission House. It wasn’t too long before a house was made available in late 1962, in Skylark Street, Inala. Once the family was settled into their new home, Joan also found employment, initially in a metalwork shop, then as the manageress of the Temperance Cafe in Brisbane, a position she held for quite a few years. Ever the wanderer, it wasn't too long before Peter decided he would like to try his hand interstate and he moved the family moved to a small flat in the Glebe area of Sydney. However, Peter found the area unsuitable for his still young family and he soon moved his family back to Brisbane. Re-applying for a Commission house, the family was again granted a house, this time in Fir Street, Inala. Joan was fortunate to be re-employed at the Temperance Café and Peter went back to engineering work. By the mid-to-late 1960s, Peter decided he had had enough of working for other people and elected to strike out on his own. Joining his brother Den, who was a Painter, and working very hard Peter earned his Painter and Builder qualifications and quickly became a very successful self-employed Builder and Painter / Decorator, and for a few years he worked in partnership with his older brother Dennis. With Peter travelling down to Melbourne, and Dennis travelling up to Brisbane, with both travelling to Sydney on a regular basis to work together. This proved to be an excellent partnership and working together they built and decorated numerous houses in and around the suburbs of Brisbane, as well as in the suburbs of Sydney, and Melbourne. In 1971/2, Peter built his eldest daughter Yvonne and her husband George's first house at Clontarf on the Redcliffe Peninsula, he also built a house for himself and Joan at Burpengary. As Peter & Joan's children grew up and started out on their own, they decided to once more move around Australia, and during the years 1974-1991 they lived in the suburbs of Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, in and around Stanthorpe in the Queensland Granite Belt, Sapphire and Emerald in North Queensland, and in other Queensland rural areas of Warwick, Laidley, Bribie Island, and Nanango, and tried their hand at many things. They prospected for sapphires and other precious stones, from the northern Queensland gem fields to the northern NSW opal fields, operated many small businesses from Brisbane to Sydney, throughout Queensland in the Lockyer Valley, the Darling Downs, and the Granite Belt, where they also grew several types of fruit. Peter is credited with being the first to try, and succeed at, growing strawberries hydroponically in the Stanthorpe area. I am certain my sisters and families all remember many wonderful family holidays in a number of the places they lived. During this time Peter & Joan continued to enjoy life to the full, making time for each other, their family and friends as they socialized and travelled. With Peter constantly demonstrating his indomitable sense of high spirits and love of life and Joan taking it all in her stride and enjoying the ride. In 1991 Peter & Joan 'retired' to a small house at Toogoolawah, where they continued their very full and busy life. Regularly visiting all their family members, they thought nothing of driving hours at a time to have a 'cuppa' or lunch with one of their family. They thoroughly enjoyed their hobbies, both Peter and Joan enjoyed fishing, both possessed a love of painting, and between them produced some lovely works. Peter also liked to put his hand to the occasional story / poem, having one actually published in a poetry book. They took great pride in their many gardens and the local wildlife which were always welcome and encouraged to visit their gardens, and until the late 1980s Joan was an excellent gemstone cutter and polisher. Self-taught Joan took this up during the 1970s, cutting and polishing the variety of precious and semi-precious stones she and Peter found while they worked several small sapphire claims around Sapphire, Ruby Vale, and Emerald in Northern Queensland. She delighted in carrying on with this hobby for many years and gave many of the finished stones to her family. Wherever they lived, Peter was regularly called upon as the local handyman, or as a volunteer to help organize special functions, at which he also provided much of the entertainment, never losing his love of playing the Clown or Santa. He also became actively involved with local council in many of the areas in which they lived. It was no different during their time in Toogoolawah as both he and Joan were actively involved in the planning and running of the recreational program at the local retirement home, which was across the road from their house. As well they both became involved in the local council activities, street events, and joined the local Bowls Club. Joan & Peter both took great pride in their many gardens, with local wildlife always welcome and encouraged to visit their gardens. They also loved nothing better than have friends and family visit and stay. No matter where they lived, their home was always wonderful weekend retreat for us all. Peter and Joan became Australian Citizens on 21st January, 19946, continued to enjoy their full and busy lives for the next few years and celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary in 1997. Unfortunately, in 1999, Peter became quite ill and this illness forced Peter and Joan to move closer to family, for necessary support. For a short while they lived with eldest daughter Yvonne and her husband George in Redcliffe. But, they soon found a comfortable unit in the local area and settled into establishing a new, yet equally busy, social life. Sadly by early 2000 Peter was showing increasing signs of dementia, which progressed fairly rapidly into Alzheimer's. Under medical treatment Peter was stabilized for many months and Joan ensured they managed to continue to enjoy their busy social life. However, during 2003, Peter's mind had deteriorated even further and with some assistance from visiting heath care people, it fell to Joan to care for all his needs. Although it became increasingly difficult for Joan, she ensured they still enjoyed a fairly active and fulfilling social life. By mid-2004 it became clear that Peter needed full time care, and Joan was in serious need of a break from the 24hour a day worry. Peter had become a skilful escape artist and was constantly in danger of becoming lost. On one occasion he was found wandering up the middle of the busy highway at the back of their home. Desperately tired and worried for Peter’s safety, arrangements were made for Peter to be admitted to Respite Unit at Eventide in Sandgate. Only ever planned as a temporary measure, it soon became apparent that in Peter's best interests a permanent place in a secure dementia unit was necessary. Fortunately, it wasn't long before a place became available for him at the St Paul's Aged Care Dementia Unit, situated in Caboolture. Always proud of her independence, Joan continued to live in the unit they had shared in Redcliffe and travelling by bus made two or three visits a week to have lunch with Peter. Although by the time he moved into St Paul’s Peter no longer really understood we were his family, he appeared to thoroughly enjoy our visits, at times we would see a slight and fleeting glimpse of the earlier Peter we all so loved, and he always responded with the deep love we all knew he possessed. He continuously entertained us with his unique sense of fun, and he kept his special brand of humour almost until the very end, and he became a favourite of the staff, often teasing them and always making them laugh. It was extremely sad to see this much loved gentleman sinking into the depths of this terrible disease, to have him forget our names, or who we were, and to see the slow but stealthy disappearance of his very being. However, throughout this trying time we had the unending support of Joan and, once Peter was in St Paul’s, also of the carers and staff. The family was extremely grateful for the love and care shown to Peter, and indeed his entire family, during the time he spent there. We were always encouraged not to see St Paul's as a nursing home, but as an extension of our own homes, and this was demonstrated in the loving, supportive and open nature of all the staff concerned with the running of this wonderful facility. Joan’s youngest step-sister Hazel visited Australia in May 2004, much to Joan’s delight, as they hadn’t seen each other since 1961. Sadly, Hazel passed away from Breast Cancer only a few months after returning to the UK. In March of 2006, Peter celebrated his 80th Birthday, along with Joan, daughters Yvonne & Linda, the other residents and the staff. Peter making us all laugh as, like a naughty young boy, he decided to attack the cream on his birthday cake, before blowing out his candles. July, 2006, saw Joan & Peter celebrate their 59th Wedding Anniversary, with his wife and three daughters. Again cake was the order of the day, and although the candles seemed to mesmerize him, Peter wasn’t much interested in the actual cake, until he was served a nice large slice, which he ate with great delight. Although Peter’s Alzheimer's progressed rapidly and it appeared he was in a world of his own most of the time, it was clear that he and Joan still shared an intense love. Peter no longer knew our names, or were we sure he recognized us when we went to visit, but undoubtedly to the end of his life he responded to his dearest wife and closest friend Joan. Sadly, in August 2006, Peter suffered a debilitating stroke which rendered him bedridden and he contracted pneumonia, which proved non-responsive to treatment. Peter succumbed to his illness at St Paul’s on the 24th September, 20064. His funeral was held at Traditional Funerals Crematorium, Burpengary, Queensland, on the 28th September, 20064. At his Cremation Service, in memory of his special talents, his wife, daughters, grandchildren and great-grandchildren paid a special tribute in a celebration of the life of a much-loved gentleman clown. Family and friends were all provided with a Red Nose to wear, his youngest grand-daughter Lisa dressed as a clown and gave a wonderful impression of Peter, while his 5year old great-granddaughter Lucy captured all our feelings with a letter she wrote to her granddad - 'Dear Grandad, thank you for doing those things that made us laugh, we are all going to miss you and your memory will always be with us, thanks for being you love Lucy' - which she placed in his coffin at the funeral. Well known for his love of life and laughter, Peter was immensely proud of his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, all who fondly remember his role as Clown, Artist and Santa at family gatherings. Equally remembered are his antics whenever he thought anyone needed a laugh. Over the years Peter must have drawn literally hundreds of 'Donald Ducks', 'Mickey Mouses' and 'Goofeys', and while we have lasting memories in the form of photos of his Clowning etc, sadly it appears few of his 'cartoons' have survived. Following Peter’s funeral, Joan continued to live in the unit in Redcliffe, continuing to meet with friends and visiting her clubs on a regular basis. Joan had a nasty fall at home in early October, 2007, and suffered a dreadful fracture of her right shoulder. After surgery to repair this damage, which included a shoulder replacement, she worked extremely hard to get herself back on top. It is a testament to her strength, determination and independence that after her accident, she continued to live in the unit she and Peter shared and maintained her busy social life. Joan enjoyed the company of friends at the local Senior Citizens Club, and played Bingo a couple of times a week. Then at the age of 81, and never having learnt to drive a car, Joan purchased a mobility scooter in order to preserve her independence and allow herself more freedom. We are all immensely proud of her resilience and stamina. During the next few years, Joan enjoyed her social life style and was often seen 'scooting' around the area, going to get a Subway for lunch, meeting her friends at the Senior Citizens Club, or joining them at the local RSL or Leagues Club for a game of Bingo, lunch or a chance on the Pokies. 2009 saw Joan enjoy a visit from her other step-sister Sylvia, along with husband Maurice when they visited Joan’s eldest daughter Yvonne. Joan spent an enjoyable and pleasant day with them at Australia Zoo. Two of Joan’s younger sister Peggy’s grand-daughters, Hayley and Jade, visited Australia in 2010 and Joan was thoroughly delighted to have been given the opportunity to meet this extended part of her family. We were all shocked when, in July 2013, Joan suffered a heart attack while out at the local shopping centre with daughter Sandra, who was visiting from Toowoomba. Luckily our family doctor just happened to be passing and managed to stabilize her while they waited for the ambulance to arrive. Taken to the Redcliffe Hospital, Joan was successfully treated and after a week was sent home to wait for a specialist appointment. But, unable to be left on her own, and with eldest daughter Yvonne and her husband overseas, and Sandra living in Toowoomba, she went to stay with younger daughter Linda in Caboolture. A follow-up visit to the specialist saw Joan back in hospital a few weeks later for open heart surgery to repair valves and blocked arteries. Amazingly, Joan recovered very quickly and was released back into the care of daughter Linda just a week after surgery. No longer able to live by herself, but still insisting on her independence and refusing the doctor’s advice to look for a place in an aged care facility, a small independent living unit in a Senior Rental facility in Morayfield was found and Joan happily moved in, and in her own matter-of-fact manner quickly adapted to her new situation. With onsite managers and care nurses on call, Joan and her family had the best of both world, she was still able to be independent, but with the security of people instantly on hand if needed. Turning 88 mid-2015, Joan continued to enjoy a somewhat quieter social life, frequent visits by her daughters, regularly coffee with new friends, and joining in most of the activities in the complex where she resided. By mid 2016, we all knew it would not be long before we would have to find Joan a place in a more supportive environment, and by mid-October she had willing moved into the Sunnymeade Park Age Care Community in Caboolture. Again this change in her living arrangements in no way inhibited her love of life and in her own determined way she soon adjusted to the routines of the home. Residing in the Seahaven part of the complex, Joan continued to enjoy life, fully immersing herself into all the social activities and outings, and still enjoying the social outing with daughters. We were all immensely proud of her enduring resilience, stamina, and her ability to take all challenges in her stride, continuing to be active and enjoying life right up to a day or so before her death. On Friday 3rd March, 2017, Joan fell rather ill and was transported to the Caboolture Hospital early Saturday morning 4th March, suffering from a sever blockage in her Bowel. Inhalation Pneumonia soon followed and at 6am on Sunday 5th March4, Joan peacefully passed away. Joan was a much loved lady, always positive, supportive and caring, and will be sorely missed by all her family. Her funeral was held at Traditional Funerals Crematorium, Burpengary, Queensland, on 17th March, 20174. The service was conducted by Mark Brinkmann, our local Lutheran Pastor, and was well attended by her family and many friends. It was Joan & Peter's wish was that after their deaths that their ashes be scattered together at one of their favourite places, Maleny in the scenic Sunshine Coast Hinterland. To this end Joan had kept Peter's ashes for this event, and on Sunday 30th March we honoured their wishes when their ashes were scattered together into the water at the picturesque Gardener Falls just outside Maleny. I have some wonderful memories of our family times together. Although only very young, I remember going by bus with Dad to pick up Mum and my baby sister Sandra from the hospital, and being allowed to 'hold' her on my lap between Mum & Dad as we took the bus home. Dad being the Clown or Santa at Christmas parties, holidays by the beach with Uncles and Aunts, Dad paying for a deck chair and umbrella for our dog Timmy, and amazing camping holidays in the Welsh Hills. Rides in a motorbike and sidecar: our dog Timmy in the nose, Sandra in front, Linda & me in back, and Mum behind Dad, as we sped out for the day. The thrill when we got our first car. Dad & Mum regularly providing little surprises for us all to find, and a never-ending supply of love, laughter & guidance. Dad taking me to the local cinema on Saturday morning for the Children’s Matinee, letting me have my independence by giving me threepence to buy a treat, and providing security by standing outside waiting for me until the picture had finished. Going with Dad very early in the morning to the Fruit & Veggie Markets where we always had a delicious breakfast of tea and toast, it always seemed to taste better at the market! Great excitement on hot summer days as we all paddled in the water at Frencham Ponds. Other summer memories include listening to Dad mow the grass as we tried to sleep on long hot summer English evenings, the best ever ice-cream brought at the beach, laying on the grass in the garden and 'reading' the clouds with Dad (an activity I still enjoy to this day) and so many more special times. We were extremely blessed to have had Joan & Pete as our Mum & Dad, their deep love and commitment for each other and for us was the foundation on which they built our lives. Although there were tough times there was always guidance, love, and laughter. Mum & Dad gave us a rich and interesting childhood, by example they taught us to how to love, to make the best of things, to always do the right thing, and they always made sure we wanted for little. Mum & Dad provided a wonderful legacy of strength, love and encouragement to myself and my sisters, their grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren, they will always walk beside us, we might not be able to see them, but they have left us a lasting gift – their love and our memories of them.
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