Kindhearted Joan leaves £24,000 to upper Teesdale farming charity

A LIFELINE upper dale charity has been given an unexpected windfall after a kindhearted resident left it thousands of pounds in her will.

Joan Drewe not only ensured that her open garden event in aid of Utass (Upper Teesdale Agricultural Support Services) went ahead just days before her death, but she has also left some £24,000 to the charity.

The bequest has come as a welcome surprise to Utass, which helps hill farmers in need and champions the upper dale’s cause.

Mrs Drewe died on May 23, aged 87, after a period of illness.

No decision has been taken on how her bequest will be used but it will provide an important boost in a difficult funding environment.

Utass project manager Diane Spark said: “Trustees, staff and volunteers at UTASS were overwhelmed by Joan’s generosity and the care she discreetly offered for others in her community. Joan will be sadly missed by many.”

Former Utass secretary Neville Turner worked alongside Mrs Drewe in a number of fundraising activities for the charity, the most significant of which was her first open garden day in 2016.

Mr Turner said it was sheer “serendipity” that he bumped into Mrs Drewe in 2016 shortly after she had offered the use of her garden to another community organisation in Middleton-in-Teesdale.

He said: “They didn’t want to know – she was quite dumbfounded by this. The open garden was a resounding success and a lot of people came. It raised over £600 which was the most Utass had made in one single event.

“She loved people and she loved having people over. She held court, she loved all the people coming and going. She was an absolutely remarkable lady.”

This year she was due to host her open garden at the end of May but died days before it was to take place.

Mr Turner said: “Just a week or so before she was quite anxious, even if she was poorly or in hospital, that she wanted it to go ahead.”

Out of respect the open garden day was held without fanfare, teas or the book and plant stalls that had been a feature the previous year. Despite this some £382 was raised.

Mr Turner said her garden was the product of years of dedication by Mrs Drewe and her husband John, whom he came to know through performing together with Middleton and Teesdale Silver Band.

The couple moved to Snaisgill in the early 1980s where the garden was a wilderness of rough grass and self-seeded trees.

Mr Turner said: “John’s horticultural knowledge was encyclopaedic, but in particular he enjoyed a passion for azaleas and rhododendrons. John and Joan did all the work themselves on a shoestring and doubled the size of the garden.”

This included hauling huge rocks into place as part of the landscaping.

Mr Drewe died in 1995, but his wife continued to nurture the garden that they created together.