Senior Ambassador Joan Mitchell gives hope ahead of Anzac Day tributes

ANZAC DAY can be an emotional time for many but one leading senior citizen’s tale of hope is comforting those suffering during the coronavirus pandemic.

Smile, it helps get through the day: says Joan Mitchell to those suffering during the pandemic.

‘STAY calm, this will pass.”

The soothing words from Logan Senior Ambassador Joan Mitchell to those feeling the stress from the coronavirus lockdown ahead of the weekend’s ANZAC DAY services.

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Mrs Mitchell, who was named the city’s Senior Ambassador in August, was speaking out in a bid to give Logan residents some hope during the tough coronavirus pandemic.

She said as a child, she remembered her mother, Evelyn Huggett, weeping as she pondered the fate of her beloved husband Cyril, who was away fighting in World War II.

Her father was a Rat of Tobruk and fought against Germany’s General Erwin Rommel.

German’s General Erwin Rommel in 1941.

“At that time, I did not know about stress but it must have done something to me as I watched her with tears falling down her face,” Mrs Mitchell said.

“As older folk, we have all had challenging times.

“Some, like myself, have lived through the Second World War.

“As a little girl, I can remember my mother walking back and forth down the hallway of our home, wondering whether her husband would come home safe and sound.

“We had ration books with coupons for tea, sugar, butter, eggs, but not toilet paper — we had torn-up newspaper hanging up on the wall in the outside toilet.”

Mrs Mitchell, who was widowed at 31 with four children under 11, said friends, family and even her children helped her to get through the “dark times”.

Logan Senior Ambassador Joan Mitchell has offered words of comfort and told her story in an effort to help anyone during dark times on ANZAC DAY.

The Loganlea senior said her best advice to those who were suffering during the coronavirus was to ask for help.

“With all the ghastly problems we are confronted with today, no one is any different,” she said.

“Each one of us can help in some small way – start the day with a smile, make your bed and when you get back home, your smile will still be there and you can fall straight into your bed.”

Mrs Mitchell is well known in Logan after volunteering for three years as a mentor for young people at Mabel Park State High school, talking to students about challenges they faces and how to confront them.

She also spent 11 years as a YourTown youth educational mentor, providing disengaged youth with literacy and numeracy support.

In 2010, she won the Pride of Australia (Community Spirit) Medal for her work at YourTown and in 2012 she was named YourTown Volunteer of the Year.