Gifts that keep on giving | Discover

Different people, shared passions

In some ways, Bob and Joyce were very different. Bob was an extravert and the life and soul of the party. A friend recalled having never met ‘a man with his lust for life and his unending quest for the best in music, theatre and books’.

Joyce, on the other hand, was more private and administrative, bringing organisation to the dynamic. “There’s always got to be balance in a relationship, hasn’t there?” suggests Rowell Bell, 80, a long-time friend and former student of Joyce’s who acted as their executor. “You know, like Morecambe and Wise. Bob and Joyce were like a comedy act, and she balanced it.”

The couple, who married in 1954, had fundamental things in common. They were social butterflies, who liked nothing more than bringing people together. They kept a guest book filled with visitors’ rave reviews that referenced their wonderful hosting, and a fully stocked cocktail trolley. They were both brilliant teachers, too. A friend suggests Bob’s adeptness at the job came from him being ‘a student all of his life’, but for Joyce, the daughter of a teacher, it was a more vocational pursuit.

Bob taught students who had left school, some of them without any qualifications. Joyce would say that Bob lived by the maxim that every human is worthwhile, so wanted his students to work to their full potential, even if they didn’t understand what that potential was. Bob was a figure of tireless encouragement, who managed to persuade many of his less confident proteges to go to university. Rowell recalls a young man who suggested he would likely join his father’s farming business after his studies, but Bob, who saw more in him, ensured he fulfilled that greater promise. As a result, the young man eventually became a very successful corporate lawyer.

Joyce was equally committed to her role, progressing to Head of Faculty of Arts. She was an all-rounder who also taught English, French and History, as well as heading up special events such as carol services and prize giving ceremonies, where she’d defy her quieter nature by acting as master of ceremonies. She would put her organisational skills to good use by planning school outings and trips abroad, pushing for funding to make them possible. She was well liked and respected; a head teacher she worked with remarked upon her loyalty, support, honesty and friendship.