Vale Jan– a GLBC founding member and local legend

Jan Lawless (née Janet Thomson) lived a full and energetic 99 years. A strong and intelligent woman who let nothing get her down, her energy, humour, kindness and indomitable spirit were evident in her many endeavours over a long lifetime. She was involved in our local community for almost 50 years, living in her home on the remaining section of her once-73 acre farm on Failford Road.

Born in Sydney on 11 March 1922, Jan was the last of five children. Her father was a consulting engineer involved in shipbuilding and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The family lived on six acres in Wahroonga where, after some coaxing from Jan, her father bought her first horse, Chester — horse riding quickly became and remained a lifelong passion.

When the family moved west to Macquarie Park, a sheep farm near Wellington NSW, Jan remained behind in Sydney as a boarder at her school, PLC Pymble — a time she remembered fondly. After school finished, she returned to her family at Wellington, fitting very easily into farm life. Especially the horses — Jan became a notable polocrosse player in the region.

As World War II hit, she felt the need to contribute, so at 19 years old Jan left the farm to spend six years nursing (including two as a Sister) at the Sydney Children’s Hospital. On a trip to England after the war, Jan met and married her husband. The couple returned to Australia and had five children — living in Tasmania, West Australia and NSW. They moved north to her last residence and farm in 1972. Although widowed later that decade, Jan continued to work the farm single-handedly.

Initially running cattle, Jan turned (with great success!) to breeding and showing Angora goats. Her ‘partner in crime’ for these shows was local woman and very good friend, Kath Weller. The inseparable two often headed off to shows near and far with their prize goats perched on the back seat of the car. Jan recalled her and Kath being pulled over by traffic police not once but twice on a trip north — we can only imagine how that was reported back to the station that day!

Although Jan retired from farming in 1980, her life remained very busy and active. Horses remained her passion — she was involved in Riding for the Disabled (RDA), volunteering her time and sometimes her horse for RDA groups locally, including near Black Head and Wingham. She recalls how she helped choose horses for the group, with one ‘failure’ — a supposedly quiet horse that eventually would only allow Jan to ride him!

She also volunteered with Meals on Wheels, and was an active golf and then croquet player for many years. In 2014 at the age of 92, Jan won the 2014 Forster Croquet Club Autumn Trophy and became immortalised at the club for a difficult manoeuvre known as ‘peeling the ball’. Naturally, most of these activities tapered off in her nineties but amazingly, Jan was still riding her horse well into her eighties!

Apart from her active physical life, Jan kept her mind sharp with her other great passion discovered in her late fifties— bridge. A Life Master and the only surviving founding member of our Great Lakes Bridge Club, Jan still played competitive bridge two or three times a week to the end! She recalled the early stages of the club, meeting in various locations in Tuncurry and Forster in the early 1980s prior to our present clubhouse being built in late 1999. Although a bridge beginner at the time, she learnt quickly and was surprised to be chosen to partner Peggy White, another founding member and bridge teacher. In the years since, Jan taught bridge lessons, directed games and held every committee position for the club, except one: Treasurer. When once asked why this exception existed she replied with a grin: “I couldn’t count!” (Anyone that ever met Jan knew that she was highly intelligent and could not play bridge so well if this was true!)

One 'Jan story' (fiction not fact but nonetheless an indication of her love of bridge and innate determination) tells of Jan riding her horse through the flooded waters of Bungwahl Creek to her car parked on the Forster side – to get to a bridge game of course!

With a large and loving family of five children,17 grandchildren and 25 great grandchildren, Jan considered she had had a full and happy life! Asked for any words of wisdom, without hesitation she replied: “Never worry, carry on and keep busy”. Her daughter (who lives locally and kindly helped me with this article) described her mother as: “always kind, welcoming and easy to get on with”. We will all miss Jan - in writing this, one word consistently described her – inspiring.

Bronwyn Boehm, 11 June 2021