Tributes Pour in for 'Amazing Kind Human Being' Mrs Joshi
Former Strand on the Green sub-postmistress died recently
Mrs Joshi with her son outside the Post Office. Picture: Milan Joshi
February 23, 2025
Tributes have been paid from across the Chiswick community for Daksha Joshi who for nearly four decades served as the postmistress of Strand on the Green Post Office in Chiswick.
She died earlier this week having been diagnosed some time ago with pulmonary fibrosis.
Originally from Gujarat, India, she moved to London in March 1980, with her husband, Dilip, and their two-year-old son, Milan. Seeking a suitable school for Milan, they chose Strand-on-the-Green School and noticed the adjacent post office was for sale. Seeing an opportunity to integrate their work and family life, they took over the business.
In 1990, Dilip passed away from a brain haemorrhage, leaving Mrs. Joshi to manage the post office and raise Milan on her own. Despite the challenges, she became a cornerstone of the local community, known for her unwavering commitment and kindness. Her dedication was recognized in 2013 when she was awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to the community.
Throughout her tenure, Mrs. Joshi faced significant adversities, including two armed robberies in 2007, one of which involved a gun being pointed at a customer's head. The support from the community during these times reinforced her resolve to continue her service.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Mrs. Joshi endeavoured to keep the post office operational, recognising its importance to the community. However, the increased workload and health concerns led to intermittent closures. In April 2020, her son Milan announced that due to health concerns, she would temporarily close the post office to recover.
In early 2024, Mrs. Joshi retired due to ill health, marking the end of an era for the Strand on the Green Post Office. The community, in appreciation of her decades of service, organised fundraisers to honour her contributions.
Mr and Mrs Joshi soon after they took over the Post Office. Picture: Milan Joshi
Her son Milan posted on the ChiswickW4.com forum, “For those who knew my mother and her legendary status on Strand on the Green, it is with great sadness that I relay that my precious mother has passed away after a long illness. Her suffering over a long period was immense and heartbreaking.
“In 2014 she was suddenly diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis - a brutal terminal lung condition. Despite that, she continued to work in her beloved post office till last year. She did brilliantly to get this far but last year her failing lungs led to heart failure and in the last week this led to kidney failure. All sadly irreversible.
“She was an amazing human being. Kind, caring, loving, great sense of humour, strong, selfless and a brilliant postmistresses for which she was awarded the British Empire Medal from Her Majesty, The Queen.
“Holding my mother's hand and telling her that I love her deeply whilst watching her slowly pass away over many hours was a horrific experience. But there is relief that she is not in pain anymore and she is reunited with my father.”
Including the responses to Milan’s post, there has been a wave of messages celebrating the contribution that Mrs Joshi made to community life.
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |