Joan Pointon (29 Dec 1925 - 4 Oct 2025)

In loving memory of Joan Pointon who sadly passed away on 4th October
Joan Pointon
29th December 1925 – 4th October 2025

Our Mum Joan, was born on 29th December 1925,almost 100 years ago. She was born at 98 Willoughby Street, Radford, Nottingham and was the second daughter of Edwin and Olive Scott, and a younger sister for Jean. After a brief time living on a council estate in Lenton Abbey, the family moved back to Radford where Mum went to Bentinck Road School. One of the childhood memories that Mum retold in her last few years was baking bread with her Grandma.

While in Radford, the family were members of the Salvation Army on Denison Street. Mum left school at the age of 14 and the family moved to Basford where Mum got a job at the J B Lewis hosiery factory as a Winder.

Mum loved to sing and to dance, and was struggling to find a dancing partner. Her friend Doreen, who worked at Players, told her there was a man there who knew how to dance, so the stage was set for a meeting. Mum and Dad met at Jepson’s Dance Studio in early 1942 and the rest, as they say, his history. However, this strong courtship could only be interrupted by some major incident. In this case it was the Second World War, and in June 1942 Dad was asked if he could lend a hand to help out our side.

Mum’s talent for singing gained notice when she would go with a friend to hear a band at the Odeon Ballroom in Nottingham. The ballroom was in the basement of the Odeon cinema. The band was called Billy Merrin and His Commanders. Mum was often called up on stage to sing with the band. Billy Merrin wanted to sign her as the band’s singer. He went to speak with her Mum, our Gran, who promptly turned the offer down. It was over 40 years later that Mum was told of the chance she had missed.

Sadly, in 1943 at the age of 17, Mum contracted Scarlet Fever, which had a detrimental effect on her eyesight. Her left eye needed an operation, but it was not a success, and left her blind in that eye. However, happiness was just around the corner. Dad was demobbed in September 1946, so after that rude interruption by the Third Reich, the courtship was back on track. At a Christmas dance, they were dancing together and when the music stopped, they looked up and found themselves under the mistletoe. It was their first kiss. Mum remembered her knees turning to jelly. Mum and Dad were married on 5th April 1947, and one year and 3 days later my big brother Michael was born.

Mum and Dad lived with Dad’s Mum and Dad at the time, in Beeston. Then the new family moved into a house, number 10 Lavender Street in St Anne’s, Nottingham, where Mum helped out in the family shop on St Anne’s Well Road. It was at 10 Lavender Street that their second son Andrew was born in 1950. In 1952 the family moved just around the corner to 25 Lily Street, which was a corner shop. Mum ran the shop while Dad still worked at Players. In 1956 we moved to Wordsworth Road in Radford and stayed there until we moved to Wollaton in 1970.

We enjoyed many varied holidays as young children and visited such far-off places as Yarmouth, Scarborough, Eastbourne, the Isle of Wight, Rhyl, Dunoon and Newquay. It was at Eastbourne in 1957 that Mum was persuaded to enter a talent competition. I remember her singing “We’ll Gather Lilacs in the Spring Again”. She came second, but we were informed later that it was a local person who had won. Apparently, this local person enters the competition and wins every week; all their friends turn up to vote for them!

Mum and Dad must have been quite good at dancing. Strictly ballroom of course. When they got onto the floor and started dancing, everyone stopped to watch. Mum wanted to go into competitions, but Dad wasn’t so keen. The dancing skills weren’t wasted though. When Michael and I joined the Boys Brigade in 1961, Mum and Dad would come along and teach the older boys how to dance. Mum also played the piano at the BB when they were putting on an evening of entertainment. Mum and Dad were involved in the parents committee too, their support for Michael and I in our childhood was unwavering.

Mum’s love for singing was always there. I remember sometimes coming home from school, walking up the road and her singing greeted me when I was still 5 to 6 houses away. She joined a choir called The Neilson Singers where she became the soprano soloist. Jane and I joined the choir too, and in 1987 the choir had a trip to Austria, where we gave a few concerts. The last one was in a church in a place called Oberau, where Mum amazed everyone by singing a solo in German. She had learnt the words and music with hardly anyone knowing.

As well as singing and dancing, her other love was children. I have some memories from our cousin Carol when they used to live a couple of doors away on Lavender Street. If Carol and Val, our other cousin, had a grazed knee or elbow, it would be Mum they went to for tea and sympathy. Even when they were older, they knew there would be understanding and sympathy from Mum and Dad without any criticism. Carol remembered that Mum always seemed happy, and when Andrew tried to blow up the street along with himself by sticking the toasting fork into a power point, it was met with laughter. Laughter is how they remember Mum.

At each house we moved to, the local children would come around and would be welcomed by Mum. She was Auntie Joan to countless numbers of them. She was even more overjoyed at having her own grandchildren and would always play with them, and read them stories, and there were always homemade cakes available when anyone called round. Her happy times were taking her grandchildren out on day trips. It’s fitting that her 6 grandchildren have carried her this morning on her final journey.

Mum would always stick up for us. When we lived on Wordsworth Road, there was a grumpy old man who lived down the road who didn’t like people walking up the entry at the side of his house. One day he dragged Michael over a wall, scraping his knees. Mum went down straight away to sort this chap out. I’m pleased to report he was still alive when she left! I wanted to play a drum in the Boys Brigade, but there were quite a few older boys waiting to be picked and I didn’t get selected. I returned home and told my Mum I was going anymore. She went to see the captain and I was learning the drum the following week. Mum and Dad were married for 66 years and brought Michael and I up in a happy, caring home. Something we are both grateful for.

In later years Mum’s eyesight continued to deteriorate, having cataracts, glaucoma and detached retina in her right eye. Sadly, when Dad died, and because of her failing eyesight and mobility, it was unsafe to leave her in the house on her own, so we took the difficult decision to move her to a care home where she could be looked after. The care in her first care home declined over time, so we moved Mum to Aldercar in Hucknall, and we are really grateful to the staff there for the care and patience they gave Mum in her last years. Mum had dementia in the last few years, which took away many of her lovely memories.

Mum was always positive. With the affliction of her poor eyesight she could have given in, saying ‘I can’t do this,’ or ‘I won’t be able to do that.’ Her attitude was, well it’s happened, now let’s get on with life! I never heard her complain once about her disability, and she relished the blessings brought to her by her grandchildren and later on, her great grandchildren. Mum brought laughter and joy into the lives of many, and it is with laughter and joy she will always be remembered.