Joanie was born in Hong Kong where her father was a solicitor.

She met Peter Caddy when he first came to St. Anne’s to visit Liebie Pugh in 1965. After Liebie’s death in 1966 she came to Findhorn to live in the first of the seven cedarwood bungalows to be inhabited. She came together with Evelyn Sandford who moved into Evelyn’s next door once that was completed.

Joanie became the treasurer of the community, and of the Findhorn Trust once that was set up in 1968. She also served as a trustee of the Findhorn Foundation 1972-1990. She was not only the treasurer but there are also many stories when she stepped in as the financial responder, several times, to Peter’s requests for manifestation.

She was Eileen’s close friend and steadfast support over the decades. Until the Caddys moved out of the Original Caravan, Eileen slept at Joanie’s to be able to do her early morning meditation in more comfort, no longer having to go to the public toilets.

Joanie’s bungalow and garage

Joanie looked after the laundry and handed out linen to members and guests and was known to have re-used linen very thriftily. She had a car and a garage for the car, which later got turned into a sewing room which was used for this purpose into the 1990s.

In 1996 Joanie became increasingly frail und eventually was looked after by community volunteers supported by Barbara Faro (Vincent) who worked for Holistic Health Care. Eileen was very involved with and held tea parties in her home Cornerstone for all volunteers every 2 weeks asking “Can you continue for another 2 weeks? “And each time the answer was YES!, even if eventually with the professional support from live-in nurses. Joanie died at home on 7th October 1996.

Caring for Joanie was the start of what we today know as the Caring Community Circle – including the beginning of the Community Care Fund which Barbara and Eileen set up. This fund still exists today and has helped to support Eileen and Dorothy in their final journeys – as ever Joanie was instrumental in supporting Eileen, even beyond her death.

Extract from the Timeline:

1967

Joan Hartnell-Beavis and Evelyn Sandford of Universal Link move to Findhorn

Peter, Eileen & Joanie go to Cluny Hill power point, Christmas Eve, ‘cosmic’ inner event

1972

Findhorn Foundation legally inaugurated on 9th May
First Trustees include Sir George Trevelyan, Joan Hartnell-Beavis and Ross Stewart

1996

7th October, Death of Joan Hartnell-Beavis

Stories about Joanie on this website

Eileen’s recollections of Joanie from the early days are in her autobiography Flight Into Freedom.

 

Compiled by Cornelia Featherstone May 2023