The family of an elderly animal lover who spent the last three years of her life at a dementia care home in Bridgwater found an unusual way to express their thanks for the care she received there – by enabling the team to buy pet rabbits for the home.

Joyce Williams’s family were invited to a special afternoon tea at the Avalon Nursing Home and her husband was given the special job of officially naming the rabbits which have been called Joyce and William in memory of his beloved wife.

Joyce’s daughter, Lyn Dickens, said: “We really wanted to show how much we appreciated all the love and support Mum had while she lived at Avalon, so the family and many of her friends honoured her memory by donating to their residents’ fund.

“We were delighted when they said they’d like to use the memorial donation to buy pet rabbits for the residents. Mum and her twin sister Joan used to have rabbits as children, and Mum always loved them, so it’s an appropriate gift to make in her memory.

“When we arrived at Avalon for the tea party we found the lounge had been beautifully decorated with rabbit pictures, coloured in by the residents who are already great fans of their new pets.

“And many staff brought in home-made cakes in memory of Mum, as well as a lovely savoury spread provided by the chef. I know that all the staff, residents and visitors were invited, and many staff attended even those for whom it was their day off. Mum was obviously a very popular lady.”

Joyce arrived at Avalon on Christmas Eve in 2019. The first thing she did on arrival was to ask for a bacon sandwich.

Lyn said: “That was produced in double-quick time and she enjoyed it very much. From then on, until she passed away last November, nothing was ever too much trouble. That initial timely bacon butty was typical of the many small ways the team would engage with her and support her to lead her best possible life.

“My dad Peter, my aunt Joan – my husband Steve and I, and other family members who visited her frequently, really appreciated the way the team always go the extra mile for their residents and were totally confident Mum was happy and well-looked after by them.

“There was also a real outpouring of love and support from them for us as a family, which made all the difference.

“My parents had been married for 60 years and during the afternoon we shared many anecdotes with the team who had cared for her, including the time she surprised us all by accepting and drinking a glass of red wine - even though she was not a drinker – and making us laugh by telling us how much she’d enjoyed it.

“She was a very giving, loving, wonderful person, and had so many friends. Dad used to say it would take them all day to walk the length of the High Street because there were so many people who wanted to chat with her.”

Joyce Williams was Bridgwater born and bred and lived there all her life. She had numerous jobs in the town, of which her favourite two were as a sales assistant in Mothercare and selling raffle-tickets for the Blind Society.

Avalon Nursing Home is run by award-winning dementia care providers Camelot Care who also run homes in Wellington and Yeovil in Somerset, and in Plymouth.