Tributes after coronavirus death of council stalwart Joyce Blackburn

Joyce Blackburn represented the Easington Lane ward on Hetton Town Council for more than 30 years, retiring after she suffered a stroke seven years ago which left her partly paralysed.

She passed away at The Laurels Care Home in Hetton last Thursday, April 2, shortly after her 94th birthday.

Son James, himself a Sunderland city council member and Hetton councillor, paid tribute to the care she had received.

“Mam didn’t go to hospital, she was too frail,” said James, who has just come out of isolation after visiting his mother.

“The GP felt they could not do any more for her in hospital, they would not have been able to put her on a ventilator, so the The Laurels looked after her and did a great job.

“She had her 94th birthday on March 15, so she had her birthday and she had Mother’s Day, then on April Second, she passed away.”

Joyce and husband Sam clocked up more than six decades on the council altogether: “Between them, they did over 65 years with Hetton Town Council,” said James.

“He and mam were steeped in Easington Lane, in the school and being a councillor

“My dad was a past chairman. He got a letter from Tony Blair because there were four generations of the family in the Labour Party.

“Mam went onto the council in December 1981 and was on there until about a year after her stroke, which would be about 2014.

“The council gave her an exception so that she did not have to put an apology in for her absence. They accepted that she was not going to be able to attend.”

And it was not just party membership that was a family matter: “Mam used to be a caretaker at Easington Lane Primary School – she took over from my dad, who took over from my grandad,” said James.

Joyce is also survived by son Ron, daughter Corrine and numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren. A family funeral service will be held at Sunderland Crematorium on April 23.Donations to The Laurels.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper.

Thank you

How to subscribe to the print edition

It’s easy to subscribe to your local newspaper. We have arranged a special 20 per cent off subscription offer for people to take advantage of. Visit www.localsubsplus.co.uk, choose the newspaper title, the type of subscription and enter your details.