Joan Elizabeth Harris

Joan Elizabeth Harris passed away peacefully at her home in Victoria, BC Canada on October 18th 2022, at the age of 95.

Joan was born in Swaffham, Norfolk, England and attended the Sacred Heart School in Swaffham, a time in her life that always held fond memories for her. Joan was married to Ken on May 3rd 1947 and they celebrated 65 happy years together in 2012, before Ken sadly passed away, later that year. She has missed him terribly over the past 10 years and was always grateful for the daily visits from her daughter and nightly phone calls from her son and daughter-in-law.

Joan’s career included banking, the private sector and primarily as a School Secretary enabling her to enjoy long vacations with Ken who was a School Principal. After retirement she loved to travel including regular trips to Canada to visit her daughter and son. She and Ken emigrated to Victoria, Canada in 1995 and they were both active members of Goward House Seniors Centre. Joan loved attending the theatre and concerts and held fond memories of going to shows in London’s west end and Norwich while in England and local performances after moving to Victoria.

Joan is survived by her daughter Sue, her son-in-law Eric and grandson Alex and her son Martin and daughter-in-law Chris.

A celebration of life will be held on Monday November 21, 2022 at 5pm following a small memorial service at Royal Oak Burial Park and mum’s internment with dad at the burial park. If you are interested in attending any of these events, please contact Sue Maitland at suemait@shaw.ca or 250-217-5027 for more details.

Mum was adamant that she didn’t want a lot of flowers for her funeral. One wreath from the family was all she would agree to. She asked that anyone else who wanted to remember her in some way, make a donation to Our Place Society, an organization mum supported for many years which provides shelter and support for homeless people. If you wish to make a memorial donation you can do so at the link below.

Joan’s loving, generous and compassionate spirit will be missed by all those who had the good fortune to know her. She truly was a blessing in our lives.