A quietly public-spirited former Lions Club president held a management role in one of the island’s supermarkets and worked within the United Bermuda Party.

Joan Munro was recalled by family as living by the adage that “where there is a will, there is a way”.

As a young student at Mount Saint Agnes Academy, Mrs Munro was summoned to the head teacher’s office when the school discovered she had taken a job at the Winifred Peniston’s fabric store.

She was determined to support herself after her parents separated and her father was unable to meet the school bills.

The school agreed to a scholarship arrangement and Mrs Munro kept attending and working until she finished.

She married Roger Munro in 1952 and gave up work after their son, Brent, was born in 1963.

Her business acumen returned to the fore when she returned to the workplace at The Woman’s Shop department store in Hamilton, where she became a manager, in charge of purchasing.

The same day she left, Mrs Munro was approached by Morris White, her uncle and the owner of White’s Grocery Store.

She was recruited to manage the dry goods department and travelled extensively for purchasing.

Mrs Munro joined the Hamilton Lioness Club in 1988, rising to vice-president and then president.

She transferred to the Hamilton Lions Club in 2005, serving as president from 2010-11 and club director from 2015-16.

She also chaperoned its Bermuda Youth Band, attending overseas conventions.

Mark Bothello, district governor for the Lions Club, said he had known Mrs Munro since childhood.

He said: “She was a very caring individual who liked to give back to the community and was very proud to be in the Lions — she loved everything that the Lions did; the dinners, the meetings, getting involved and helping people.

“She also brought in quite a few members.”

Mrs Munro was a close friend of Marlene Christopher, a former parliamentary registrar and member of the Lionesses.

Ms Christopher recalled Mrs Munro was deeply proud of bringing the first male member into the club — and a fierce advocate for its equality with the Lions.

“She was very passionate about the Lionesses,” she said.

“We weren’t considered on the same level as the Lions, and were not recognised by the international organisation.

“We were fighting to get that recognition and be considered as equal. It was quite a process that evolved into us all becoming Lions.”

Ms Christopher added that her friend was a returning officer who served at elections.

“One thing about Joan — once you got to know her, she was your friend for life.”

Mrs Munro served as deputy chairwoman of the UBP’s Southampton West branch, and her granddaughter, Jenny, recalled decorating floats with her for the party.

She volunteered as a pink lady for the Bermuda Hospital Auxiliary and was a supporter of WindReach Animal Farm.

Mrs Munro became a born-again Christian early in her married life, joining Calvary Gospel Chapel.

A family tribute said: “Joan spent her entire life helping people and making life better for those in need.”

• Eva Joan Frederica Munro, a former president of Hamilton Lions Club, was born on October 12, 1933. She died on January 19, 2024, aged 90