Joan Norton Spillman passed to the other side on May 6, 2014. She said it was time…in the last few weeks she kept asking ‘how long is this going to take’. It was so like her…she was never one to sugar coat her words!

She and her husband, Reg, left England 60 years ago, first to Canada, then to California. They worked hard and succeeded in all aspects of their life.

In the early years Joan held a variety of jobs, then in her forties went back to school to get her nursing degree. As life got easier for them she took up horse riding. She always said one of her favorite times was riding her horses in Santa Ynez. When Joan and Reg retired they moved to Sequim, Washington. There they had the time to relax, garden and Joan enjoyed photographing the

countryside.

The last year was not an easy one for her. She left the

home she loved in Sequim to move back to California to be closer to her family, then she lost her husband in October of 2013 and finally in March she was diagnosed with an illness that had kept her in pain for many years previously.

We hope that she was able to have some good mo- ments in the last year…I’m sure she did. She still had a wicked sense of humor, she got pleasure from talking to people, sharing the many interesting events in her life with others, listening to music loudly and eating as much chocolate as she could. She always lived life large.

She will be missed by her daughters, Victoria, Aman- da and Julia; her son-in-law, Win; her grandchildren, great grandchildren and her many friends. But I know she is happy…she is with Reggie and Melodie now.

There will be a memorial for Joan on August 2, 2014 in Lompoc, California.