Life Story of Joan Heather Easton

This story could almost be written in a book of fairy tales. After the main event of the Miss Toowoomba Quest, Joan helped the other ladies to organise a fundraiser dance to help generate more funds for the Anzac House appeal. The dance was held at the Memorial Hall, and served as a place to meet new people and promote a worthwhile cause. Despite being an organiser for the event, Joan did not actually bring a partner to the dance, as would be expected then. Due to a recent tennis injury to her ankle, she had determined that dancing would be out of the question. That was, until her brother Ian introduced her to his friend Ray Stuart. Ray was a university student who graduated from Emmanuel College with Ian Thompson, Joan’s brother. He took studies in the Bachelor of Arts while Ian was doing Bachelor of Arts/Law Degree. After graduating, Ray decided to become a school teacher and was sent to the small town of Ayr to teach. Prior to going to university, Ray served in the war, as the vast majority of young and fit men did during that time. While fighting for his country, Ray was shot in the elbow. The injury was so severe that it necessitated that he remained in an army hospital for over two years – unknown to Joan, who was living in Toowoomba and working at the Commonwealth Bank during the war. The two only met a couple of years later, when Ian brought Ray to Joan’s fundraiser. Joan describes Ray the first time she saw him as, “this tall, handsome fellow [who] looked a bit lost.” To her own surprise, Joan forgot about her injured leg and danced with Ray throughout the night, and, of course, it was love at first sight. The two stayed together for a number of years, and then on the 6 th of February 1949, Ray asked for Joan’s hand in marriage. As the story goes, Duncan Thompson only gave Ray his blessing once the young man could beat him at a game of chess. The couple finally married at a lavish ceremony in St Luke’s Anglican Church on the 12 th of October 1949. Joan wore an absolutely stunning wedding dress, and had three girls that she had been friends with since high school be her bridesmaids. Duncan Thompson acted out his role of her father and walked the 28-year-old down the aisle to be wedded. This day symbolised the beginning of a marriage that would last over 50 years. After a beautiful ceremony, Joan and Ray decided to honeymoon on Heron Island in the Great Barrier Reef, at the advice of their travel agent. However, what their agent did not tell them was that October was the season of the mutton bird on Heron Island – the birds would come to the island in their droves and make a sound ‘something akin to a ghost being slowly murdered’ – not the best way to spend your honeymoon!

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