ONE of the oldest inhabitants of Abergavenny sadly passed away last December at the age of 104.

Joyce Lewis was blessed with excellent health, and when asked what the secret to her long life was, she would often reply mischievously, “That only the good die young.”

Born in Abergavenny on April 15, 1921, when David Lloyd George was Prime Minister, Joyce attended Abergavenny’s Grammar School for Girls. She left home at 18 to train as a nurse at the newly opened Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.

She was nursing there during the Second World War and treated many wounded soldiers and airmen.

After qualifying in 1944, she then went on to The Middlesex Hospital to train as a midwife and after six months began to work as a district midwife in the East End of London.

She found delivering babies in rundown houses with no water or phones, in areas that were frequently bombed, challenging but rewarding.

She loved her job, and during this period, she began dating the love of her life and fellow Abergavenny native, Fred Lewis.

Joyce once recalled, “My maiden name was Joyce Lewis, and after marriage, it was the same! All of my life, I have been called Joyce Lewis!"

Fred and Joyce married in 1946 in the Congregational Chapel in Abergavenny, but continued to live in London, where their daughter Susan was born two years later.

The couple would later return to Wales and have two more children, John and William. After a period living in Cardiff, they returned to their roots in 1985 and brought a house on Greystones Avenue with a spectacular view of the Blorenge.

Their new home was just around the corner from where Joyce was born at Trossachs and in sight of the farm on the Deri where Fred was raised.

Joyce kept herself busy during retirement. She was the Captain of Avenue Road Ladies Bowls Club and later became Vice President.

She was a keen gardener and active member of Llantilio Pertholey WI, and as a lifelong Christian, she was a regular and popular member of the congregation of St Teilo’s.

She continued to enjoy an active life well into old age, including afternoon tea at The Angel to indulge her sweet tooth, and was delighted to receive her 100th birthday card from the Queen.

In her last few years, Joyce moved to a care home at Coombe House, Streatley, to be near her daughter Susan.

Her son William told the Chronicle, “Everyone who knew her has fond memories of her as mum, Joyce, granny and great granny. The most common words spoken at the funeral were that she was a ‘lovely lady.’”

In her last Christmas card to friends and family, Joyce wrote, “After my long and busy life, I find that I am slowing down and spend more time reflecting on the happy memories acquired during my life in which you all play a part. I have had good health for all my life, I have done all the things that I wanted to, I have no regrets, I am very content”.

Joyce Lewis’s ashes will be interred at St Teilo’s church, Llantillo Pertholey on January 31 at 11 am. The committal service will be followed by light refreshments. All friends of Joyce are welcome to attend. Donations if desired can be made in Joyce’s memory to the Footsteps Foundation. www.footstepscentre.com/donations”