SHE may have looked like a sweet, unassuming lady but 92-year-old Joan Reid was a force to be reckoned with.
On Tuesday 30 August, the lady known as Mrs Cranbourne was laid to rest in a ceremony at St John’s Anglican Church.
The tireless community ambassador made such an impression in Cranbourne that she was known as the woman with the big ideas.
“She had a mind like no one else I’ve ever met,” said her long-time friend Elwyn Squires.
The wife of former Liberal Party MP Len Reid, she believed that the two most important things in life were her political affiliation and her church.
It was fitting that the funeral service was held at St John’s in Cranbourne, in the church she attended weekly in the suburb Mrs Reid called home since 1948.
“Joan was a dynamo, she was the force driving Cranbourne,” Ms Squires said.
Mrs Reid was the chairman of the Dandenong Women’s Section of the Liberal Party for more than a decade. She organised luncheons and arranged for guest speakers to give talks and inspire her fellow members.
South Eastern Metropolitan Region MP Inga Peulich spoke in State Parliament last week about Mrs Reid’s contribution to the party, after her husband retired from politics.
Len Reid was the State Member for Dandenong from 1958 to 1969 before being elected as the Federal Member for Holt from 1969 to 1972.
“Joan was an icon of the Cranbourne branch of the Liberal Party and the Liberal Party broadly, providing advice, support and guidance for many Liberal Party members in the region.
“She was a tireless worker and organiser and a person of influence,” she said.
Born in Sydney in 1919, at age 10 the adventurous and passionate woman moved to Clyde with her family. She lived in Dandenong before settling in Cranbourne with her husband after they married in 1946. They met when Joan was just 15.
Her contribution to the Cranbourne community was unrivalled.
“She was a remarkable lady,” said Lyn Jewell, the Regional Chairman of the Red Cross.
Each March, Mrs Reid would doorknock for the annual Red Cross appeal.
She also campaigned to build the Cranbourne Indoor Pool.
“Amongst her many titles Joan was an esteemed foundation member of the Cranbourne Ambulance Auxiliary and provided continual dedicated service and support. Joan Reid was also the foundation chair and a life member of the board of Casey Grammar School,” Ms Peulich said.
Mrs Reid is survived by her daughter Virginia and son Roger.
“She was a very good-living woman who meant well and cared for her country,” Ms Squires said.
-Danielle Galvin
