1926-2013

Joyce Isobel Heath (née Manning) died peacefully at her home in Bradford Peverell in Dorset on 7 August 2013. She was born in 1926 and lived as a child in East Horsley, Surrey. She was married to Colin A. J. Heath, who was also a dental surgeon. Joyce studied dentistry at the Royal, graduating with several awards in 1948. She often told us of the terror she felt doing her dissecting under the glass roof while the bombs were passing overhead! After graduating she worked as a house surgeon at both the Royal and Barts, where she was the first female on the staff as a resident. She worked briefly in London at a school clinic before helping her husband with their practice in the Epsom home. In 1966 the family moved to Chippenham in Wiltshire where she worked as a dental officer. In 1977 she moved to Dorset and worked in a clinic at Dorchester before returning to Wiltshire and working with the forces at Tidworth. In addition to her dental skills she was a competent botanical and landscape artist, leaving a considerable portfolio, which was exhibited at her funeral. She was also a very knowledgeable gardener and took a great interest in alpine flowers, in the pursuit of which she travelled extensively. She leaves behind her daughter, Susan Herapath, and son, Mark Heath. She had two grandchildren.