Joan started at ZSL as a junior wages clerk in what was then the Catering Department in 1958 at just 16 years old. Joan was an active member of the Staff Association before ASTMS union recognition was gained in 1971. A founder member of this union group (now Unite the Union), Joan would go on to serve as a union rep for 19 years. Joan stood against the existing Union Secretary in 1981 and was overwhelmingly voted into the role she would occupy for the next 7 years. By 1988 her workload, now as financial accountant, led her to stand down as Secretary to be replaced by this writer, Adrian Taylor. She stayed on as a rep for a further two years. I had good reason to be grateful to Joan. Between 1985 and 1986, she and then-Chairman Gordon Nevill had overturned a management decision to close the Print Room where I worked. In 1994 Joan took over as Pension Scheme Staff Trustee, a role she relished and carried on for some years as Pensioner Trustee after she retired at the end of 2001. In that year, on being asked how she aimed to spend her retirement, she replied with typical directness, "Living my life!"
 
Joan also served on the job evaluation committee, once famously leading a boycott of that process when a director took on a secretary at too high a rate. She was awarded the ZSL Bronze Medal for her outstanding contribution to staff and Society alike. Her entire working life was spent at this one institution. She always spoke her mind, sometimes to the discomfort of those on the receiving end. She stood up for what was right and was loved and respected for that. One last memory is of her at retirement age outshining youngsters around her as she 'flew' around the dance floor at the Staff Christmas Party. The legacy that she leaves is all around us here at ZSL.