Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

'Family matriarch' Joyce Vercoe an amazingly strong person, says daughter

Bay of Plenty Times
15 Oct, 2016 06:57 AM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Joyce Vercoe. Photo/Supplied

Joyce Vercoe. Photo/Supplied

Joyce Vercoe will be remembered as the matriarch of the Vercoe family, and for her tomato relish.

Joyce Elizabeth Vercoe was born March 9, 1915. She passed away at Tauranga Hospital on October 8, in her 102nd year.

Her daughter Sandra Vercoe said her mother was the third of nine children brought up in Waitoa.

Mrs Vercoe's mother and father, Alice and Dennett Wright, were dairy farmers in the area.

After the children grew up, the family shifted to Mount Maunganui before Mrs Vercoe was to meet her future husband Len Vercoe.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Mrs Vercoe and Len were married in 1935, and after their marriage they lived in Paeroa where Mr Vercoe opened a butchery.

They had four children, Sandra, John, Robert and Cheryl.

Joyce Vercoe, her four children Sandra, Cheryl, John and Robert amd husband Len. Photo/Supplied
Joyce Vercoe, her four children Sandra, Cheryl, John and Robert amd husband Len. Photo/Supplied

After the butchery the couple moved to Greenlane in Auckland where Mrs Vercoe bought a stationery shop.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The couple then retired before Mr Vercoe passed away in 1982 after heart problems.

Because most of Mrs Vercoe's children had ended up living in the Mount, she moved back to the area about seven years ago.

Mrs Vercoe was very active with the Methodist Church most of her life, was the first secretary for New Zealand First when they established in Auckland and also a financial adviser to the Red Cross.

"She was very community focused. Her brain was fine until the very end," her daughter Sandra Vercoe said.

Ms Vercoe said her mother was a lovely old lady, and was famous for her roast dinners and tomato relish.

"We need to find that recipe of hers."

Even though Mrs Vercoe lived in her own home until a short time ago, she was still "a bossy old girl, and was telling us what to do until the day she died," she said.

Mrs Vercoe was survived by two siblings, Keith and Lola, her four children, seven grandchildren and many great and great-great-grandchildren.

Family was her life, Ms Vercoe said.

"She was the matriarch of the family, and she was involved with everything every day. She was still worrying about us right to the end. She was an amazingly strong lady and person."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Joyce Vercoe and her family on her 100th birthday. Photo/Supplied
Joyce Vercoe and her family on her 100th birthday. Photo/Supplied

A service to celebrate Joyce's life will be held at the Wesley Church, 100 13th Ave, Tauranga on Saturday October 15, at 11am followed by private cremation.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

Hard work pays off: Six young BoP squash players prepare for worlds in Egypt

28 May 01:23 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

Heavy rain advisories for BoP, thunderstorms possible

27 May 11:17 PM
Bay of Plenty Times

Regional ratepayers to fund $3.58m loan for Tarawera Sewerage Scheme

27 May 06:40 PM

Gold demand soars amid global turmoil

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Hard work pays off: Six young BoP squash players prepare for worlds in Egypt

Hard work pays off: Six young BoP squash players prepare for worlds in Egypt

28 May 01:23 AM

The young players will be representing New Zealand at the Junior World Championships.

Heavy rain advisories for BoP, thunderstorms possible

Heavy rain advisories for BoP, thunderstorms possible

27 May 11:17 PM
Regional ratepayers to fund $3.58m loan for Tarawera Sewerage Scheme

Regional ratepayers to fund $3.58m loan for Tarawera Sewerage Scheme

27 May 06:40 PM
Premium
Kiwi Harvard students' futures 'held hostage' in university's battle with Trump

Kiwi Harvard students' futures 'held hostage' in university's battle with Trump

27 May 06:00 PM
Explore the hidden gems of NSW
sponsored

Explore the hidden gems of NSW

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP