Joanna Louise Lunt 1947-2024
Members will be saddened to hear of the death of Jo Lunt. She died peacefully in Airedale General Hospital, Keithley on the 26th January 2024 after a long battle with a chronic respiratory disease.
Joanna Louise Lunt was born on the 13th July 1947 in Liverpool. A bright student who was also fiercely competitive on the playing fields of lacrosse and cricket.
She trained as a Geography Teacher but later concentrated on the teaching of English. She had a long established interest in ceramics and fabrics but later became a book-seller of Penguin Books which she initially sold from her front room in Harrogate. I became a frequent visitor and she always greeted me with 'I hope you've brought your pocket money'. She became a close family friend and often stayed weekends with us at Luddendenfoot. We would scour the bookshops of Littleborough, Todmorden and Hebden Bridge where she replenished her stock.
Jo became a member of PCS in 1997 and a Trustee in 2000 where she took on the role of Editor for the next 16 years. Jo supported Martin Yates in the production of 25 lists of the major penguin series (Q99) which most of us collectors still cherish.
Jo's funeral service took place on the 15th February at Skipton Crematorium. The order of proceedings were set out in the livery of a Penguin Biography Book. Family and friends gathered to hear the story of her life, readings of verse from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and the music of Al Bowley and Leon Redbone.
After the service, her two daughters, Emma and Charlotte, hosted a gathering at The Herriots Hotel Skipton where we shared further memories.
I always remember Jo in her trade mark; expensive but sensible shoes, beautiful knitwear and the smell of herbal tobacco.
Jo, you will be much missed by many. Rest in Peace.
Jeff Lucas on behalf of The Penguin Collectors Society.
