As Jo’s friend Katy said at the Thanksgiving Service for Jo’s life in Great Malvern on 12 September 2008, it is impossible to pay tribute to Jo in an hour, a day or even a matter of weeks. For many the process will be a gradual evolution of memories of all the things she loved, the friends she laughed and cried with, the many challenges she threw herself into and the pleasure she took in the simplest of experiences.
Jo was born in Malvern, Worcestershire on 15 September 1977. She was fiercely and justifiably proud of her connections with such a beautiful part of the world, where she lived with her parents Janet & Roger and her younger brother Richard until she went to study law at Bristol University in 1996. Jo had attended Dyson Perrins C of E High School and shone not only academically but also at sport, captaining her school netball team and playing for local club Malvern Ladies as well as throwing the discus for Worcestershire. Jo had also grown up with a love for dancing and music, having been a pupil of Janet Lupino Dancing School and appearing in many local musical productions.
At Bristol, Jo fitted seamlessly into university life and made the most of her sporting abilities by not only playing for the university netball team, but also for the England and Great Britain University squads. Jo was awarded a ‘Red’ from Bristol University in recognition of her achievements as an extremely talented (not to mention tall and bossy!) defender. As part of her degree course, Jo spent a year living in Wurzburg, Germany, where she made many more friends and strengthened her enthusiasm for all things German.
Jo graduated from Bristol in June 2000 and moved to Nottingham where she completed the postgraduate Legal Practice Course. Again, Jo found time to fit in as much sport as possible and played for the Falcons netball club in local and national league competitions. By this time Jo had secured a training contract with national law firm Pinsent Masons and she started work with them in London in March 2002, having spent the previous 6 months backpacking in various parts of the globe.
Jo loved her London life and she made the most of the city's myriad of opportunities for social, sporting and cultural experiences while fitting in an increasingly successful legal career. Netball remained her sporting focus for the first few years in London and Jo played for both the Academy and O.P.A. clubs in the national league competition. She hung up her netball kit in favour of rowing lycra on joining the Poplar rowing club in 2005 and her natural talent, focus and determination meant that before long she was rowing in the Head of the River races. In addition, Jo was a yoga and pilates enthusiast and did her best to fit ski trips and scuba-diving in to her busy calendar. She was always looking for the next challenge, which was invariably completed with ease; her weekends were often taken up with activities such as10k runs, half marathons and charity bike rides. Even by Jo’s standards, she had set herself a tough task with her entry for the 2008 New York marathon, but in typical fashion she had been following her training program with impressive dedication.
In addition to her sporting commitments, Jo was faithful to her love of dancing and music and attended venues such as the Royal Ballet, Sadler’s Wells and the Royal Albert Hall as often as Twickenham and Lord's. The television series ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ had few more fervent fans and Jo’s 30th birthday present of a 45 minute lesson with Ian Waite was the highlight of her year. Jo made the lesson into much more than just three quarters of an hour by signing herself up for ballroom dancing classes.
Jo bought her flat in the Highbury area of London in late 2004 and set about transforming it with her own brand of ‘domestic goddess’ skills. Kim & Aggie, Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson would all have been proud of Jo’s devotion to their works and she was an ardent supporter of high quality, ethically sourced, food and drink. The wine tasting nights at the local pub were fixtures in her diary and there are few people who took as much visible pleasure from a large glass of cool Sauvignon Blanc as Jo did.
These achievements and interests were just ‘extras’ for Jo – by day, she was a lawyer specialising in the gambling and leisure industry with law firm Harris Hagan. Jo joined the firm in 2004 when it was set up by 2 lawyers from her previous firm and she played a key part in its rise to recognition as the leading player in its field. Jo had recently passed her Higher Rights advocacy exams and was noted in the 2008 edition of the ‘Legal 500’ directory as being "increasingly recognised”.
Jo left London in early August 2008 to go on a 3 week holiday to China, Mongolia and Russia, which would take in some of the action at the Beijing Olympics and the famous Trans-Siberian rail trip. Jo loved travelling, having previously travelled extensively in Europe, Asia and Australia, and had been planning the holiday with her friend Helen for some time. The Olympics lived up to all expectations and it would be difficult to imagine any supporter more enthusiastic than Jo when she watched the GB Mens IV collect their gold medals at the Shunyi rowing park in Beijing.
Having arrived in Russia via China and Mongolia, Jo and Helen set out on a 20km trek along the shoreline of Lake Baikal in Siberia on Monday 25 August. At one of the higher points on the path, Jo slipped and fell down the rock face, suffering fatal head injuries. Jo died in hospital in Listvyanka, near Irkutsk, a short time later.
Jo’s death has left an immense gap in the lives of all those who knew and loved her. Although this void may never be filled, the hope of The Joanna Brown Trust is that the passion, pride and determination with which Jo lived her life will inspire us all to raise money in her name and to use it to improve the lives and opportunities of others.
"So when you are lonely and sad at heart,
Go to the friends we know,
Bury your sorrows in doing good deeds,
Miss me, but let me go."
- last verse of "Miss me, but let me go", anon.
(read at Jo's Thanksgiving Service)
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