Joan Eirene Maude Gascoyne
Died peacefully at the Sheffield Convalescent Hospital in San Francisco on January 28; she was 96. She was born January 18, 1919 to Cecil and Sybil Jones-Bateman in Bournemouth, England. She grew up in her beloved Cotswolds in Toddington and had wonderful memories of taking the daily train to Cheltenham Ladies College. During the war, she was an RN at St. George’s Hospital in the center of London, which narrowly escaped being destroyed when a German bomb got caught in a courtyard tree and failed to detonate. Near the end of the war she was posted to India, residing in Varanasi, Bangalore, and Poona. There she met John Win Gascoyne whose motorcycle accident rendered him one of her patients. They were married back in England on May 24, 1947, and would have three sons.
The young family moved to the States in 1957, living in Boston for three years, southern California (in Arcadia) for twelve years, and moved finally to San Francisco in 1973. Throughout this time she raised her family, continued to work part-time as an RN, and pursued an associate’s degree from Pasadena City College (1969), a BA in English from California State University Long Beach in 1973, and an MA in English at Mills College (1976). After her husband John died of cancer in 1976 she moved to an apartment on Turk Blvd, and remained happily ensconced there until 2006. She was part-time RN at the Jewish Home for the Aged until her retirement in 1984. During her retirement years she volunteered at the Coming Home Hospice, traveling about the area to offer aid and comfort to many patients.
For much of her last decade she struggled with dementia, and though communication became ever more impaired, she never completely lost the ability to gleam with delight when friends and family came to visit.
Joan had an enormous fount of love, and the patience and compassion to care for others. She had a wonderful sense of humor, which combined with her English accent, and kind grandmotherly manner, made her a friend adored by many who will dearly miss her.
She is survived by her three sons, Edward, Martin (Karin Gardner), and Peter (Claudia English), her brother Rowland Jones-Bateman, and five grandchildren: Claire, Natalie, Evita, Evan, and Antonia.
A memorial service celebrating her life will be held at a later date. Memorial contributions can be made to On Lok Lifeways (415292-8898) who provided an extraordinary quality of care and compassion to her during her final years, and Coming Home Hospice (415-861-1110) whose work she hugely supported.