Florence Joyce (Joy) Jackson
4 December 1927 - 13 August 2023, aged 95
of Figtree (formerly of Port Kembla)
Our remarkable Mother, Nan, GG, Auntie and friend, Joy, passed away peacefully on Sunday afternoon, 13 August 2023, with her daughter and son by her side.
Dearly loved wife of John (dec), very much loved mother of Lynda Hezemans, Paul (dec) and Philip, mother-in-law of John, adored Nan of Elizabeth and Matt, Michael and Peta, Jenni and Kurt, Louise and Brett, John and Rachel, Mitch and Ricky-Lee, Alex, Zac and sweet GG of her great-grandchildren Levi, Charlyse, Thea, Gulliver, Kadence, Indi-Rose, Lucy, Abel, Finn, Hugo, Riggs, Vincent, La-Brae, Brock, Jet and Kruz.
Lynda, Philip and their families send their heartfelt thanks to the outstanding nurses and doctors at The Wollongong Hospital, and Dr Jayantha Rao, Mum’s GP, who took such loving care of their Mother.
Now resting in the arms of her darling John.
Before talking about Mum, Philip and I have some people we need to thank. The nurses and doctors at The Wollongong Hospital, especially the nurses in the Geriatric Ward, Medical Assessment Unit and, for Mum’s final three weeks, the Respiratory Ward - we will never be able to repay the kindness, love and care they showed to Mum and us, and Dr Jayantha Rao, Mum’s GP in Figtree who took such lovely care of Mum for many years.
Thankyou to Steve for being Mum’s friend, our friend and easing our pain by conducting Mum’s service.
Thankyou to our dear friends and cousins, both here and overseas, for always keeping in touch, checking how Mum was doing, offering us so much love and support, visiting Mum and including her in our social life.
Thankyou John for being at our beck and call to help us avoid one of the stresses of the last few months - parking at Wollongong Hospital.
Thankyou Pat for being Mum’s dear friend and wonderful neighbour over the last 13 years. Mum loved you.
Thankyou to our darling children and their husbands and wives (whom we count as our children) and our grandchildren for providing us with the strength and love to get through the last 5 months; and for organising the special details for today.
And from me, to Philip (my brother) - you have given me nothing but utmost love and support throughout this time.
Mum was born in Salford (near Manchester) in England before The Great Depression began. She lived through the Second World War and the housing shortage that followed. Mum’s childhood was difficult but not unusual for someone born in that era in England. Mum was the youngest of five children and the only girl. She left school at 14 to work in a factory and rose to be running the main office and looking after all the staff.
Mum and John Magee were married when she was only 21 and that was then that she found out her first name was Florence! Her family had always called her Joy or Joyce. The post-war housing shortage prompted the move to Australia. My father came in 1951 and Mum arrived on 13 June 1953. After visiting England a couple of times, I’m so grateful that she came here - if only for the climate.
My father died when I was 4 and Mum was in Australia with two little children, no other family and a mortgage. She showed astounding bravery by deciding to stay here.
It was not long after my father died that Mum met the love of her life, our Dad, John Jackson. Mum and Dad met at my Aunt Vena and Uncle Pat’s home on New Year’s Day - I can still hear Uncle Pat saying “oh, here comes Johnny Jackson” and that was it - two fates were sealed. They were the perfect couple - life wasn’t perfect but they were the perfect example of how to negotiate life with love and kindness for each other.
Our lives growing up were very typical of the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s - although we had no direct family here we didn’t miss out. Mum and Dad’s closest friends were our aunties and uncles, their children became our cousins and we had lots of our own friends, some are our lifelong friends (around 65 years and counting).
Mum and Dad enjoyed their life in Port Kembla and had a great social circle of friends - often going out for a dance at Port RSL. Their retirement years were wonderful - lots of time with the grandchildren, some travel to visit Paul wherever he was working and lots of fun, Mum joined Port Kembla Legacy, went to Bingo with Aunt Vena and Mary, our next-door neighbour. Reading became a big part of Mum’s life - she loved biographies.
Our world changed forever when Dad died suddenly on 17 January 1994 - Mum has had almost 30 years on her own. We did our best to make Mum feel loved and included in our family lives. Mum and I loved going to musicals and concerts as well as the pictures, out with friends and we’d have lots of family get-togethers. Music was always a huge part of Mum’s life and she was a lovely singer. Attending Schools Spectacular for over 20 years was always a highlight for Mum - Thea and Gulli also came with us a couple of times.
A fun night was Singalong Sound of Music where we dressed in curtain fabric as the Von Trapp Family. One of Mum’s favourite movies was “Brassed Off” - the story of a colliery band during the turbulent miners’ strike in the 80’s in England. A few years ago, I told Mum we were going out on a Friday night but not where and she was so surprised and happy when we arrived at The State Theatre to see the big signs showing that the Grimethorpe Colliery Band was playing that night. The best part was all the band members came to the foyer after the concert to chat with the audience and Mum was having a great time greeting everyone like she was the Queen.
Mum has provided us with lots of laughs and funny, I mean embarrassing, moments over the years and many more during the last few months. You can ask Philip about more stories later. On 31 July Mum was particularly bright and chirpy so I decided to take her photo. I quickly took a photo and she called out “not without my lipstick”, so I gave her mine and, even though she wasn’t happy with the colour, I was able to take another photo - it’s in the slideshow.
Mum lived at Nareena for the last 23 years and she was content there making lovely friends - Pat, Nora, Freda, Little Jean, Enid, Justine. Mum was on Facebook and Instagram - a great way for her to keep up with what was happening in the family and to see lots of current photos. My Insta friends called Mum “the subcontractor” because she would sew down the bindings on all the quilts I made for her great-grandchildren and other family members and special friends.
Mum was a prolific knitter - there was always a hand-knitted gift for a new grandchild or great-grandchild in the case under her bed. And everyone in the family and beyond received beanies, bedsocks and mittens (your pattern Denise).
She started coming to trivia occasionally with us on a Tuesday night - she was our secret weapon but I think it was more for the fish and chips, always with vinegar.
Mum’s goal in life was to be needed and useful to other people. Mum may not have been religious but she lived by Christian principles. Mum loved nothing more than being with her family.
No matter how difficult and sad these last months and now losing Mum have been, nothing, for us, compares to the awfulness of having to tell our darling Mum, when she was 88 years old, that Paul was gone and to see her crumble in front of us - that was the worst day of our lives. Mum showed her family such courage by getting up each day, putting one foot in front of the other and continuing to find enjoyment in life.
Mum was the epitome of a true friend and a wonderful mother. She didn’t want to leave us, her will was unbelievably strong and she fought with every ounce of her being right till the end. To say we will miss her is the understatement of the century. As Philip said on Sunday, Mum was “a helluva woman”.
Mum, I know that flights of angels have sung you to your rest with Dad and Paul.
