On 3rd March 1998, Joy Piper was laid to rest, having died after a
long illness in February. Joy (with her husband Dennis) bred
almost a thousand bloodhounds between 1958 and 1997. Many of
these became champions under their ownership, but they derived great
pride in seeing new comers to the breed do well with their hounds.
Many British kennels owe their foundation bitch to the
Abingerwood kennels.
The funeral was not held in church, but in the field where Joy had
excercised her hounds at Blacklands, Ewurst for over forty years.
There, she was buried with a congregation of twenty or so
friends and four couple of bloodhounds. Her friends were given the
opportunity to speak about Joy before the coffin was lowered to her
final resting place. The service, a "Tribute to Joy" was lead
by Dennis who managed to complete a moving speech which he had
prepared in typed form, in case the emotion was too great for him to
continue.
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