Farewell to Joan, who wrote to make you smile

OUR mum, Joan, was a Wyken resident for almost 60 years and read the Coventry Telegraph almost every day. When I say almost, there were times we were away on holiday at the seaside.

She loved to make people laugh and she gained quite a little following. She would tell us about people she met from time to time, they would ask “Are you J Young from Wyken”? They always joked that they had better watch out what they say otherwise they would end up in the Telegraph.

I am writing this for Mum. She would want all of those that had a chuckle out of her musings to know that she passed away peacefully at Coventry University Hospital on January 5, 2017, and she would want you all to know how much she enjoyed writing her letters to the Telegraph and hopefully give everyone a chuckle.

She was a WWII Coventry Blitz survivor. The factory where she worked was destroyed one night. She helped make braces for the Army, and seeing the place in ruins one morning when she arrived, ran home crying. She told her Mum: “My scissors and apron, they’re lost, what can I do now?!”

One day I asked her: “Mum, how did everyone get through those terrible times?” She replied: “With a sense of humour.”

That was Mum. She was laughing and joking with the wonderful staff at the hospital until the very end. This is how she would want to be remembered.

Thank you for reading this, it made our mum smile. This was one of her wishes, to let you all know.

Love and best wishes to everyone in Coventry. Peter and Alba Young Wyken Coventry