Eulogy 8 - Eulogy for Joan Testro (nee Saunders) (1923-2015)

 

EULOGY FOR JOAN

(Eulogy written and delivered Joan Mary Tilton Testro (Maloney/Blake/Saunders)
by Warren Maloney on Tuesday, 5^th May 2015) ^[1]

 Joan was a Giver all her life. We can say that about few people but certainly Joan Mary Tilton Saunders Blake Maloney Testro was a Giver for all her 91 plus years.

 Not sure where the Giving came from – perhaps part Genetics. Her voice certainly was a gift from the past, on her father’s side (the Saunders and the Thomases from the deep valleys of Wales) and on her mother’s side (the Buckleys and the Godfreys from the lilts and ceilidhs of Kerry and Tipperary).

 Perhaps it was from the role models, for she was picked up as a largely unwanted 5-year-old child by Aunt Mary and Uncle Ernie, who provided a home not with money but with clearly seen tracks of love, duty, and care. There she felt loved, wanted, and purposeful.

 Genetics or Nurture? The outcome was a teenager in the early years of the War working to support the family both as a typist and a part-time stage singer.

 A third factor, LUCK, came her way – twice during that period. The 1st lucky break was filling in at a war concert for her wayward Mum, the red-hot mama, Maggie Buckley. Joan impressed and steps followed steps into better stage gigs, chances grabbed at recording remarkably popular songs (even the unforgettable serenade to Stalin “Curl the Mo, Uncle Jo”) and spots on the most popular variety radio shows of the day.

Sure, doors were opened for her, but Joan just GAVE, gave the performances they wanted, in the tempos and arrangements they wanted and with the humble stage presence the audiences wanted.

The 2^nd lucky break was wandering into her mum’s Perth dressing room to learn that the show’s 2^nd banana, Rex Clifford Testro, had been assigned by Maggie to be Joan’s chaperon in Perth.

 The chaperon pushed the boundaries and 5 months later Rex and Joan had a Cathedral wedding, a slap-up afternoon celebration and headed off with no money but lots of courage into the West Australian outback to re-invent Pantomimes and, if in trouble, sell some advertising.

 So, their late 20s and early 30s were totally consumed with spontaneous live theatre. The format was the loose plot of the Panto, Sinbad the Sailor. But the reality was that the show allowed everyone to do their party pieces. Rex & Keith could juggle, Maggie could belt out a show stopper, Jean could delight with melodies, Al Mack & Rex could fill in the comedy as the very naughty Dames, and Joan could stitch it all together as the appealing, adaptable singer/comedienne/dancer, Sinbad, opening, linking, and closing the show.

It is a pity that all this was before YouTube and we only have the promotion stills & advertising to paint our mental pictures.

Joan was the Giver in the show as well as the administrator, the worrier, the feet on the ground. Her importance is best summed up by the recollection that entrepreneur Rex locked in the Pantomime for December 1948 which meant a fair mental jump for the young audiences at Northcote Town Hall as Sinbad was about 8 months pregnant.  Joan of course improvised – out went the black tights, the yellow tight jerkin, and the solo dance patter and in came voluminous robes for Sinbad and a lot of singing very loudly as she was standing way up-stage.

 Rex was always the Big Ideas partner. The Giver partner, Joan, had to make it happen.

 So, when Rex, ignoring any lack of money, wanted all the extended family and friends to celebrate the baptism of their first, the Princess Alexandra, Joan had to make it happen.

 She chatted with friends nearby and Rex and Sonny St Louis loaned them their large well-appointed St Kilda flat for the baptism shindig. They had to have the baptism celebration in the afternoon as the flat was needed for its normal use in the evenings as Sonny’s brothel.

The 3 As, Alexandra, Anastasia, and Amanda, have always been the centre of Joan’s world and the creation of a loving and fun home was always Mission 1.

 The strategy of obtaining that was never easy as Joan balanced home caring for a difficult mother, coping with a tsunami of financial conflicts at work, assisting the new family history obsession of Rex whilst dealing with his significant health issues, being a rock as her 3 daughters tackled life and families full on, whilst always leaving the door open to support and be with friends.

 This is where the rest of have been so lucky as a critical part of the Joan Giving has allowed us to join in the family celebrations, her parties of song and laughter, the days in the Sun at Surfers, the letters from the travels, those unforgettable roast lunches at Campbell and Cressy Streets, and always to be welcomed with the Joan exuberance, the sparkling eyes, and the waterfall of words and music.

 So today we all know we are celebrating a lifelong Giver. We have our moments to reflect on what we will miss, what we will always remember and what we have always valued.

 At Joan’s birthday parties over the last few years, she further developed, rewrote, parodied, and delivered the song, “I’m still Here!”  Gretchen beautifully incorporated its spirit in last week’s newspaper notice.

And Gretchen was right – whenever we puzzle over a crossword or an errant apostrophe or some rhyming poetry, whenever we hear a 40s big band, whenever we watch a Royal Command Performance night or a snippet of Judy, whenever we raise a toast with French Champagne, we will know, we will sense that Joan is still here!

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[1] Joan Mary Tilton Maloney (Testro) (nee Saunders/Blake) (1923 – 2015) was the Wife of Rex Clifford Kenneth Maloney (Kent/Testro), and the Mother of Alexandra Jane & Anastasia Lee & Amanda Rose Testro