Joy celebrates a century
100 years of life bursting with fun, love and travel
SHE may have lived a life bursting with love and travel, but Joy Jones isn’t done yet.
Mrs Jones reached 100 years this week and celebrated with a party thrown by staff and residents at NuMylo Aged Care Service, where she has lived since moving from her independent unit at Nubeena just last year.
Cr Anne Glasheen brought flowers and a congratulatory letter from the City of Toowoomba. She also received a letter from the Queen.
Joy Merle Watt was born in Brisbane on August 8, 1919, the first child of George and Rica Watt.
She has four children, 14 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
Throughout her life she was an active church member, leading Sunday Schools, conducting choirs and organising such activities as the Women’s World Day of Prayer.
Her father was a sawmill manager and Joy spent her childhood in small timber towns, Yarraman, Stroud in New South Wales, Jimna and Louisavale.
Joy did Junior at Brisbane Girls Grammar School, and won a scholarship to the Teachers Training College.
When she graduated, Joy was appointed to her home town, Louisavale, because her mother was in poor health.
It was a one-teacher school so at the age of 16 she became the head teacher.
She holds the record for the youngest trained head teacher to this day, and it is not likely to be broken.
Later she taught at the one teacher school at Eagleby near Beenleigh until her marriage in 1941 to Charles Jones.
Charles was an engineer working with the Department of the Interior on a war project, so they went to live in Sydney.
In response to the war effort call for women to replace the men who had gone to fight in the war, Joy resumed teaching at Punchbowl State School.
Their first two children Jennifer and David were born in Sydney.
After the war, Charles got a job with the British Colonial Service in Fiji, so they sold their house in Sydney and took the flying boat from Brisbane to Suva.
Joy started a Sunday School for expatriate children on the veranda of their house.
Here she taught the songs while Charles played the piano accordion.
Among the songs she taught was “Jesus loves me” in Fijian.
After two years, Joy and Charles went on leave, flew back to Brisbane.
They went to stay with Joy’s parents in Nanango, where Elizabeth was born.
They decided not to return to Fiji, and Charles got a job with the Department of Main Roads, first in Brisbane, then for a short time in Rockhampton, before taking up his appointment at Mackay.
In Mackay, their youngest child Wesley was born.
They lived for eight years in Mackay, two in Barcaldine, then another three in Mackay.
During that time, she particularly enjoyed conducting the choir at the church where she belonged.
In 1962, the family moved to Brisbane.
Joy was again active in the Sunday School at the St Lucia Methodist Church, teaching the children new songs for the Sunday School Anniversary.
One of the songs was called “Joy Bells”, which became Joy’s nick name.
Joy again became choir conductor and the choir performed a number of sacred cantatas over the years.
In retirement, Joy took up sewing large tapestries and making knotted rugs.
Charles and Joy made several trips overseas, particularly to the Netherlands where Joy’s brother Fred lived.
Charles died in 2000, and a year later, Joy moved to Toowoomba to be near son Wesley.
IT WAS A ONE-TEACHER SCHOOL SO AT THE AGE OF 16 SHE BECAME THE HEAD TEACHER.