My mother, Joyce Ferlie, who has died aged 87, was an inspiring teacher of French with a selected interest in promoting foreign languages, Anglo-French twinning and facilities for adolescents.
She was born Joyce Howlett in Upton, Wirral, and went to a neighborhood grammar school, then took a French degree at Liverpool University. Her father was a civil servant and strongly promoted education for girls.
After three years as an education officer within the RAF, she met and married Tom Ferlie, my father. They were happily married for greater than 55 years and lived in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, for an extended period inside the 1960s and 1970s. Joyce was active within the Kenilworth community, as one in every of a brand new generation of female graduates taking up local civic roles in addition to family responsibilities. It was an optimistic time and he or she contributed to the event of the growing town.
As a protracted-standing teacher of French at Abbey highschool (now Kenilworth school and sixth form), she was noted for her inspiring lessons and her copies of Paris Match, which brought an exotic touch, as did her very modern trouser suits.
She always had a world outlook and was an ideal supporter of establishing local links with France. A founding member of Kenilworth Business and Professional Women’s Club, she was also an active member of the committee of Kenilworth Youth Club. She became a volunteer within the Workers’ Educational Association and the local Anglo-French twinning association after moving to Hook Norton in Oxfordshire in 1980.
After a period inside the Cotswolds, Tom and Joyce eventually retired to Exeter to be near my brother, Peter.
Tom died last year. Joyce is survived by me and Peter.
