TRIBUTE


AS THE NORTHERN IRELAND COMMUNITY PHARMACY LANDSCAPE CONTINUES TO BE SOMEWHAT ALTERED BY THE ARRIVAL OF NATIONAL CHAINS AND MULTIPLES, PIF PAYS TRIBUTE TO ONE NI PHARMACIST, WHO PERSONIFIED THE VERY NATURE OF THE PROFESSION FOR MORE THAN 60 YEARS..


LAURA JOAN HUGHES: A TRIBUTE


life was to take another major step when, in 1952, she married Denis Oliver Hughes from Lurgan, County Armagh, and, over the next years, she was to combine her pharmacy career with that of being a wife and mother to six children: Mary, Elizabeth, Paul, John, Ita and Laura.


L


aura Joan Hughes (above) - always known as Joan - was born in 1924 in the island town of Enniskillen and, until her death last year at the age of 90, this pharmacist - and community ‘institution’ - was proud of her town.


The youngest of five children, Joan’s father, Michael Headon, hailed from Dunlavin in County Wicklow, while her mother, Susan Farmer, was from the nearby townland of Mullaghdun, County Fermanagh. The Headon family settled in Ann Street in Enniskillen.


Joan was educated at Abbey Street School, Enniskillen, before progressing to Mount Lourdes, where the talented pupil was also an accomplished actress, musician and singer.


Her pharmacy studies began in Belfast while the Second World War was still raging but, by the time Joan qualified in 1948 and registered with the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (PSNI), Northern Ireland was in its post-war era.


Now a qualified pharmacist, Joan’s 42 - PHARMACY IN FOCUS


Joan had worked in two well- known pharmacies in Enniskillen town: Maxwells in Belmore Street and Taylors in Townhall Street, but, in 1955, she took the major step of opening her own pharmacy in Belmore Street.


In 1975, Joan’s husband Denis died suddenly at the age of 53. Joan continued to run her own business and dedicated herself to her family and local community.


In 1985, she was joined in the business by her son, Paul, and, together, they renovated and extended the pharmacy to offer a wider, extended range of services to their community. In 1989, the business expanded with the acquisition of another pharmacy in nearby Newtownbutler.


Despite the success of the business, Joan’s world was to suffer a further blow in 2002, when her beloved youngest daughter, Laura, died after a prolonged illness. Despite this second tragedy, however, Joan continued to provide a top-class service to the community at large: a service, which she provided until the age of 85, when her career had spanned well over six decades.


‘My mother described her pharmacy as her life,’ Paul continues. ‘She was passionate about her pharmacy; she loved her customers and considered them her personal friends.


‘Lifelong friendships were forged in those early years and her customers and her patients became good friends. She loved to get to know them personally and to maintain and develop those relationships through future generations.


‘Hughes Pharmacy is now the only pharmacy in Enniskillen that’s actually


Watergate, Enniskillen


owned by Enniskillen people, and I firmly believe that that is because a link with the local community was built by my mother and is still carried on today. I think it was her humility that struck many, coupled with the idea that she was always available, that allowed her to form such a bond with the local community.


‘In addition to her conscientiousness and work ethic, my mother was also a great character with a wonderful sense of humour. She was witty and had a mischievous twinkle in her eye. She was very much the archetypal ‘people person’, who had a lot of time for others, and simply loved talking to everyone.’


In addition to pharmacy, Joan’s interests included golf and bridge. She was also an avid reader and loved to travel. She also loved tennis and watched it regularly on television.


Joan was very devoted to her religion and her faith was the centre of her life. She was a regular member of the congregation of St. Michael’s Church in Enniskillen and her standing in the community was evident by the large turnout at her funeral, which was greatly appreciated by her family. •


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