Friends and fellow campaigners are invited to celebrate the life of Julie Boston who sadly passed away at the end of October.
The 88-year-old is best known for her dedication to saving Bristol railways but campaigned about many issues and inspired others to do the same. More than a hundred tributes were left to Julie who leaves behind her three children, 11 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
She has been described as an ‘inspiration’, ‘a refreshing voice of truth’ and a ‘remarkable woman’ who dedicated her life to fighting for socialism. Julie spent her last days receiving palliative care at home following a heart attack.
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Her funeral will take place with close family and friends on November 25 at Canford cemetery and crematorium, at 11.15am. It will be followed by a celebration of her life at St Andrew’s Parish Church from 2-5pm, which is open to the wider Bristol community.
Her son Colin Fancy said that his mum “loved living in Bristol” but added: “She saw many of its problems - inequality, the running down of services, decisions made which favoured one ‘community’ - the so called business community. With imagination, vigour and fun she linked up with others to attempt to preserve and improve aspects of Bristol life."
Julie, who worked as a teacher before her retirement, spent the last three decades of her life in Bristol and was known by many for her activism and poetry. In 1995 she founded Friends of Severn Beach Railway, a campaign group that was successful in saving the local railway line which was under threat of closure.
Julie regularly attended council and WECA meetings, putting pressure on the Local Authority to fund the Severn Beach line. By 2007 Bristol City Council agreed to provide additional funding to the line which resulted in passenger numbers rising by 60 per cent.
She would regularly attend protests and support workers on picket lines. She has been described as a ‘creative campaigner’ who would write poems to support the various campaigns she championed, from saving public toilets to preventing library closures.
The local poet was an admirer of Bristol’s boy poet, Thomas Chatterton, who lived in poverty and took his own life at the age of 17. Julie inspired others by setting up poetry groups in Bristol and also took part in poetry slams.
She was an active supporter of Jeremy Corbyn and had her bag banned from a council meeting in 2018 because it displayed an image of the former socialist Labour party leader. Her loved ones say that just days before her passing, she told a district nurse that her religion was “socialism” and her nationality was “mankind”.
The funeral itself will be restricted to family and close friends but the people are invited to attend the reception at St Andrew’s Parish church at 2pm on Friday, November 25, to celebrate her life. Julie requested that people not bring flowers but can dress as they wish, with bright colours welcomed - her favourites were pink, red and turquoise.
There will be light refreshments provided at the reception and an open mic for people to pay tributes. People are invited to share a memory, sing a song or read a poem but Julie has requested that they should not go over three minutes.
The address for the celebration of Julie's life is St Bart’s Upper Hall, St Andrew's parish church, St Andrew's Park, Sommerville Road, Bristol, BS6 5BZ.
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