Joanne Morrison, from Brighton, died on Friday, March 13 in Suffolk having been diagnosed with two brain tumours in August 2025.
Joanne, better known as Jo, had already survived cancer twice in her life before her third diagnosis.
At 26, she was diagnosed with advanced aggressive cervical cancer and made a full recovery. At the time she was a physical instructor in the Women’s Royal Army Corps.
She was then diagnosed with a brain tumour at the age of 43.
Emergency brain surgery caused her to suffer from epilepsy as well as severely impacting her left-sided mobility and balance.
The ordeal was a major setback for Jo, and it took her two years to learn to walk without the help of sticks.
After recovering, Jo moved to Brighton and became a health coach, supporting people going through significant changes to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Through this work, Jo took up bodybuilding and competed in and won a number of competitions.
“She had never done anything like that before, but when she decided to do something she was the most determined woman,” said close friend Janet O’Byrne.
Janet met Jo 12 years ago at the Pride parade in Brighton after being introduced through a mutual friend.
“We got on like a house on fire,” Janet said. “I have two brain aneurysms, so I always said we were brainy friends.
“We were both out of relationships so saw a lot of one another – partying, Sunday lunches and going to Hickstead.”
Alongside her work as a coach, Jo also wrote a book about her health journey, Finding the Other Me, and undertook a master’s degree in psychology and the neuroscience of mental health at King’s College London.
Jo, who “loved challenges”, was a keen sportswoman and a daily gym-goer.
She became famous for her homemade fresh juices, a passion that earned her the nickname of “Juicy Jo” amongst friends.
Four years ago, Jo accepted a job working in a remote location overseas in a bid to save up enough money to achieve her dream of getting onto the property ladder.
The role involved three months working followed by a month’s holiday. During the off months, Jo was free to travel where she pleased – which she did – travelling across the globe to Thailand, visiting her brothers in Australia and Spain and returning to the UK to see family and friends.
Jo had long dreamt of buying her own home and after falling in love with Sicily during a holiday last summer, she decided to put down a deposit on a property.
In August, Janet received a devastating phone call from Jo.
The following week she was due to be off for her month’s holiday and was going back to Sicily to complete on the house but had noticed that her leg was starting to drag.
She flew straight back to the UK where a scan revealed she had a large brain tumour which would require immediate surgery.
Just before her surgery, another scan revealed that Jo had a second, and this time inoperable, tumour on her brain.
Jo spent her final months at a “beautiful” nursing home in Suffolk, near to her sister and her nieces and nephews.
“Having been through it once, she knew what she was going through,” Janet said. “She knew she had a terrible fight ahead.
“She was dealt an awful blow. Just as she had saved money and was getting her first place – her life was about to start the next week.
“She was an absolute marvel; her fight for life was unbelievable.
“She went for everything 100 per cent. We used to go out dancing and she would be laughing all the time. She was vivacious, always smiling and a lovely person. Everyone loved her.”
