October 14, 2021
A few months shy of her 95th birthday Joy died peacefully at the Bethany Care Centre in Calgary. She is survived by her daughter Elaine (Mike), son Roger (Melanie), her grandchildren Adam, Carly and Neil and several generations of nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her parents and siblings.
Joy entered this world as a very tiny baby in Somerset, England. She was not expected to survive but her early fighting instincts kicked in and that fight served her well throughout her life. Joy studied to become a physiotherapist, working in England and then South Africa. She immigrated to Vancouver in 1957 and eventually made her way to the interior settling in Vernon where she met her future husband Raymond. While in Vernon, Joy was heavily involved in grassroots initiatives for the disabled and elderly and among other things helped create the Vernon Venture Training Centre. She was recognized internationally for her work with exercise to help treat diabetes, and in the early 70's was invited to speak on the subject at a conference in Kuwait. In the late 70's the family cabin on Mara Lake became her home. Joy loved Swansea Point and became a community leader involved in creating the volunteer fire department and the community association to which she was president for many years.
She was a passionate artist and very involved in the arts community in Sicamous. An avid athlete, she excelled at sports like tennis and golf, and as her family will attest, was very competitive at table tennis, which she played into her late eighties. While in Vernon she was involved in the creation of Silver Star Ski hill and during the summers at Mara Lake, Joy spent countless hours towing all the neighbourhood kids water skiing around the lake.
She will be remembered by friends and family as a 'Force of Nature', had a determination that made things happen and when someone would say "no, that's not possible" her reply would be "watch me".
When independent living became too challenging, she moved to Salmon Arm and then to Calgary to be closer to family.
As per Joy's request there will be no funeral, however at some point a celebration of her life will be held for family and friends to share memories. In lieu of flowers, if you would like, please make a donation to your favourite charity or Diabetes Canada.