Tributes have been paid to an amateur poet who has died after a brave battle with cancer.
Joyce Henders, 80, died on April 19 at East Cheshire Hospice with her daughters Irene, Tracy and Diane by her bedside.
The Macclesfield-born and bred former nurse and army clerk wrote hundreds of romantic and quirky poems and songs, a few of which have been published in anthologies.
But the great-great-grandmother never gained the wide audience for them that she dreamed of.
However, Joyce’s poem ‘Macclesfield’ featured in the Express last September and was put on our website where it was shared hundreds of times.
Her daughter Irene said reaching that global audience was a thrill for Joyce.
She said: “She wrote so many wonderful poems about her life, her town, and despite never being published as she had wanted, but she never gave up.
“When she heard that he poem was in the paper and then the video of her singing from her bed in the hospice had been viewed thousands of times and reached so many people she was chuffed.
Joyce, who lived on the Weston, leaves seven grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren and one great-great grandson.
She lived on her own for 40 years after divorcing her former husband, Michael.
One of the family’s favourite story’s was from after Joyce had left the army she worked as a bus conductor.
Irene, 56, said: “Mum used to tell this hilarious story about how she stepped off the bus to help someone only for the driver to leave without her. She literally chased the bus from Prestbury all the way to Macclesfield bus station. She was always a good runner and it really came in handy that day.”
After being diagnosed with an incurable rodent ulcer, a type of skin cancer, Joyce spent her last days in the hospice where she shared her poems and songs with nurses.
Irene said: “The staff at the hospice were amazing. They would sit and read poems with her and really supported her.
“Mum was a strong-willed character. She had a wicked sense of humour and ruled her roost proudly, but she was ultimately a very caring and giving person. She will be missed.”
Joyce’s funeral is at Macclesfield Crematorium on May 3 at 10am.
