It was with considerable sadness that we learned that Joe Spooner passed away on Thursday 21st May. He died peacefully in Morriston Hospital. Joe was a member of the Morriston club and before that a regular player for the Swansea Valley club.

Les Philpin wrote : All of us at Morriston Chess Club were deeply saddened to hear of Joe’s departure. He was a very well-liked and respected member of the club as well as the wider chess league. His cheerful and positive nature and his love of banter will be sorely missed by all of us. He and Jill were very well known amongst South Wales chess players as good people to meet and spend time in friendly conversation with.

When telling some of the club members about Joe their comments were all very much about how he and Jill had always brought a smile to our faces. People said things like –

“Very sad news. I always had a laugh with Joe and always enjoyed his company, I will miss him. “

“I always liked Joe”

“Ah I’m really sorry to hear about Joe, he always made me laugh - had a twinkle in his eye and liked to cause a bit of mischief. I'll miss him a lot”

“That’s very sad, Joe was a great guy, quite a character and good fun to be with. Whenever coming to the club I always enjoyed a chat with him. Whenever playing him, I was always careful and likely to be caught out – you could not underestimate him. He will be missed” There are many of us in the chess fraternity that will often think about Joe and Jill and when we do we will undoubtedly smile at some cheerful memory

He will be sadly missed.

RIP Joe

31/05/2020