Joan Catherine Wegrzyn (7 Dec 1954 - 29 Jul 2018)

A beautiful person gone to a better place. Sad not to have got to know you better.

So Sorry to hear of the passing of your Mum Chan.
She was a warm and loving person and I remember her cooking classes with great fondness.
My prayers and thought are with you and your family.
Love Jamie x

So sorry to hear about the passing of your Mum Chan.
Thoughts are with you and your whole family.
She was a loving and warm person and I remember our cookery lessons with her with great fondness. I still use her recipes to this day.
Love Jamie x

A beautiful woman of God who will always be on our hearts.

A beautiful woman of God who will always be on my heart.

Dear John, Chantal and Joseph,
We were so sad to hear of the passing of dear beautiful Joan.
We are so grateful to have known Joan, so kind and gracious. We have happy memories of our precious times of fellowship, and especially our trip to Heinsberg - what an amazing experience!
You must all miss her so much and we pray for peace and strength in the coming days,
Love in our Lord Jesus
Julia and Eric and family

Dearest Joan,

Through the stories shared by Chris and Carol during our meetings, your life has been such as testament to God's love. Your optimism, joy, and faithfulness during the last six months has really touched us as we too walk in our journey with Him. Please pray for us as we continue to love and trust God in everything... like you did. Thank you Joan and rest in peace.

Lots of love

YCP

Mum’s eulogy from Friday for those who couldn’t make it.


To only write a page about my Mum is hard, as I could probably write a whole book.
To all of you here who knew Mum there are probably 3 things she was known best for: her great love for her family and friends (and actually all she met); her mad cooking skills/being a feeder and; her big love for Jesus.

Mum and Dad met 38 years ago at a prayer meeting while Mum was on posting in the UK for Air India. It was clear from the start that she and Dad were meant to be. Within 2 times of meeting each other my Grandma asked my Dad what his intentions were towards Mum and he said 'to marry her!' And soon enough, they were married, with Mum leaving her friends and family in India to move to the UK in the 80’s, at a time when lots of people weren’t as familiar with foreigners. But Mum in her way would keep on talking to people and being kind to them until she broke them. We have a running joke in our family that Mum could talk to a stone and make it talk back. She loved to chat and connect with people, she always tried to make people feel special and loved, and always would be trying to feed you. It was how she showed love (that’s a true Indian for you). You never would have believed she couldn’t cook when she first came to the UK. Mum would have recipes sent over from Grandma and she ended up being a master chef and teaching Indian Cookery at night School for over a decade.


From there Mum went on to teach Maths in a Men’s prison in Liverpool and then in the Women’s open Prison in Kent. She loved her students so much, and even when we asked ‘what has that one done?’ she would answer ‘I don’t know, I don’t ask them’. She would see the prisoners as God would see them, not for what they’d done but for who they were and she just loved on them.


One of the most wonderful gifts for me growing up was watching my Mum and Dad’s love for each other. They were John and Joan, always united and working together, spreading love.

During the last 3 weeks at the hospice, Dad slept on a fold up bed next to Mum every night and showed such incredible care for Mum through all her suffering. I would say to Dad ‘Are you ok doing this?’ and he would say ‘Mum’s my friend, I want to be with her’. Their love was just so special, it has given me something to aspire to, as they were truly devoted to one another from the time they first met all the way up until Mum’s last breath.

She was very proud of us and we would have to remind her “not everyone wants to know all about your children Mum”. But saying that we think we had the best Mum in the world and this is the time where it’s ok for us to say that without sounding braggy. She would get so excited when we would come home, feed us as much as possible and make us laugh so much. She was still making us laugh even when she was in pain in the hospice, she always kept her cheeky sense of humour.


Finally, if there’s one thing our mum loved more than anything it was Jesus and if there was one thing she would want you to know it would be that Jesus loves you so much wherever you are at. The love that people felt and saw in Mum, her warm smile and her compassion and care for others all stemmed from her strong faith. This is what kept her going to the very end. She wanted to tell everyone about God and where she got her strength from. She suffered so much but she finished her race strong, she was holding onto her little wooden cross to the end with grace. I would say to her ‘God is good’ and even through her pain she would reply ‘All the time’ with her beautiful smile on her face.

We love you so much Mum, you will never be matched, all the love, laughs, generosity and care you have shown all of us, our hearts hurt as we miss you. But praise God you’re up there with our Father in Heaven now, no more suffering or pain, fully healed and whole in His joy. Maybe even cooking some curries!?
You were always aiming to practice God’s presence here on Earth - now you’re doing it fully.

Thank you for taking care of Joan in her last days on earth.

Rest In Peace dear Joan. We will miss you but we will take comfort in knowing that heaven just gained an angel.

My dearest family, ......John, Chantal, Scott, Joseph, Helen, Anita, Vernon, Julie, Chris and families

I am sooo sad not to be able to come to the funeral as am dealing with issues in Poland relating to my own dear husband passing away a few years ago. Although I will be across the waters, my heart and spirit will be in empathy with all present, and as I will not be there to share the service, I will certainly reflect on the good and happy times we shared. From the first time John introduced us in the then, family home, through their wedding, to the births of Chantal and Joseph. Then our children growing up with all the tears and laughter and Joan always at the other end of the phone whenever there was a family matter to discuss, or just to chat. Joan was very warm, respectable and oozed love all around and I remember some good advice she gave me when I had problems regarding my mother in law. She would challenge me and taught me to say ‘Bless her, change me!’ This I found very hard but effective when put into practice in many situations. To me she was rare pure gold.
When we think of Joan we think of John. When we think of John, then Joan was always beside him. They were as one strong unit and were an example as how God intended marriage. John and John were the first people to drive down and visit my husband in hospital on hearing he suffered a stroke. Not easy with pressures and life and the distance between Southampton and Kent but I valued their consistent support very much.
I cannot imagine that our future family gatherings will ever be the same without Joan,s warm loving smile, and giggles. She will be so very missed in so many ways by so many people, as she touched many hearts with her unconditional love for others. However we draw comfort from knowing she is now with our Lord, restored and complete, but for those she left behind, there will be tears, together with many fond memories of a beautiful woman who impacted and brought others to Christ.
We thank God for Joan,s life on earth and the much too short time she spent with us. We know we shall meet again in that heavenly place, where there is no more pain or suffering, to those that believe!
May God bless us all!

Dearest Joan,

Although we were not lucky enough to meet you in person, your light and joy shines through your beautiful daughter Chantal. We loved hearing stories of your great love for everyone around you, your yummy curries, pamper sessions, fab friends and all the joy you spread. Thank you for blessing us with the most incredible friend and for creating such a heart-led woman to shine in our lives. Lots of love precious lady xxx

It was always a pleasure working with you Joan. You were a positive influence on everyone.

RIP
Dear cousin Joan

Rizwan & Suzanne Akram

Thank you Doctors, Nurses and staff of Heart of Kent Hospice. Nita, Joan's sister and myself felt your love at all times, not only for Joan, but for us also. Your constant smiles lit up Joan's and our days.

My dearest sister in law Joan,
You wanted so much to live, only to be able to give your testimony to the world, so that you may be able to bring many more people closer to Our Lord. I believe Joan, that Our Lord has heard your prayer and worked through you and your family to heal me and give me the strength and courage,to give my testimony.
During the last 6 months, due to a very low sugar condition, my brain metabolism changed and I became a total wreck, both physically and mentally. Joan, even in your poor health condition, you prayed for me and led your praying warriors ( your family n friends)to do the same. Today, I can happily and proudly claim that I am totally healed and have regained my mental composure and confidence. Thank you Joan, Thank you Lord.
Thank you Lord for giving me and Joan's lil sister Nita, the opportunity of spending with her, the last days of her life and caring for her at home and esp at the hospice. Living with Joan and her loving family has taught me how to love and how to pray. Thank you Lord.
Nita n I, will forever treasure the last 26 days we spent with you, when we saw your life ebbing away and how peaceful and serene you were throughout. During those days, Nita patiently fed you, which though used to take so long, was such a joy for Nita, as she lovingly gave each morsel to you. And during this time, I enjoyed playing from You tube, spiritual hymns and golden oldies and it was sheer joy for us, to see your toes moving and fingers going up and down, in tune with the music and with a small smile. We know Joan that every movement was a struggle for you, but you wanted to enjoy the music and more importantly you wanted to let us know that. We loved every moment of that bonding,dear Joan.
Dear Joan, today your beautiful and happy face is waving out to me, in our living room and constantly motivating me, to be more prayerful and loving.
Thank you dear sis Joan, thank you Lord.
And as you always said.... THE JOY OF THE LORD IS MY STRENGTH... Adieu to you, sister... Till we meet again.....🙏🙏xxx