Joyce Harmer, who recorded community life in north Norfolk newspapers for over 60 years, has died aged 87.
In the years before the word "hyperlocal" was ever invented, Joyce filled countless columns as the village correspondent for the North Norfolk News.
She reported on the activities of clubs and other organisations, churches and charities, as well as events and fundraisers, weddings and funerals, mainly in North Walsham, but also in a number of surrounding parishes.
In a poignant last link with her profession, the thoroughly organised Joyce even prepared her own death notice, which appeared in last Saturday's Eastern Daily Press (EDP).
It stated - see here - that she was reunited with her husband Eric, also a journalist with Eastern Counties Newspapers, the publisher prior to the current owners, Archant.
Joyce's newspaper career began with her 1947 marriage to Eric, a reporter for both the EDP and North Norfolk News. Joyce became his secretary and would sometimes help him with major stories.
For example, when Eric was ill with pneumonia, she took a taxi to Sea Palling to report on the devastation caused by the floods of January 1953, which claimed lives in the village.
Joyce, who died on 14 March 14, had also meticulously planned her funeral, which will be held in North Walsham on 1 April.
