'Love you forever': Virgin founder Richard Branson pays heartfelt tribute as wife Joan dies at 80
LONDON, UK: Richard Branson has announced the death of his wife, Joan, saying he is “heartbroken” by her demise at the age of 80.
In a post on Instagram, the billionaire entrepreneur described his wife of 50 years, as his “best friend” and “guiding light.”
“Heartbroken to share that Joan, my wife and partner of 50 years, has passed away, she was the most wonderful mum and grandmum our kids and grandkids could have ever asked for, love you forever,” wrote Branson on Instagram.
The cause of her death has not been disclosed yet.
Family pays tributes to a 'loving and generous' mother of 3
The couples’ son, Sam Branson, paid tribute to her mother Joan, calling her “the kindest, most loving, warm and abundantly generous woman to walk this earth.”
He added that he is “deeply grateful to have had the privilege of being your son and being able to call you mum.”
Their daughter, Holly Branson, previously wrote a blog about her mother Joan’s upbringing in Glasgow where she worked at a pawnbroker’ shop to later at a London bric-a-brac on Portobello Road in west London.
Holly described her mother as “a stay-at-home mum who was (and still is) always there with a hug, inspiring words of wisdom and a welcoming smile.”
The love story that shaped the Branson family
Branson first met his wife of five decades, Joan, in 1976 while she was working at an antique shop in London. In a blog post in 2015, Branson wrote that he “fell in love with her (Joan) the first moment I saw her, a blonde-haired, down to earth, Scottish beauty who didn’t suffer fools, Joan was unlike any other women I had ever met.”
His love for Joan even inspired him to buy Necker Island, his private retreat in the Caribbean, as a grand gesture.
“Before we knew it, Joan and I were high in the sky, looking down over our future home. It was the second time I experienced love at first sight,” he wrote in a blog post on Virgin.com.
The couple married on the island 11 years after purchasing it and welcomed three children together: Holly, 44, Sam, 40, and Clare Sarah who passed away at 4 years old due to premature birth. Their children, Sam and Holly, followed suit later and hosted their wedding on the same Carribean retreat, Necker Island.
Branson, one of the UK’s most successful businessmen, who founded Virgin records said, “Joan has always been a steady source of wisdom and played no small part in some of my better life decision.”
