Joyce Marie (Byers) MacCall
1928-2020
Joyce Marie (Byers)
MacCall – 92, Truro.
With profound sadness, we announce the passing of Joyce Marie (Byers)
MacCall on Monday, December 21, 2020.She is survived by her husband,
Clayton; son, Jon; daughter-in-law, Grac; grandson,
Dexter.
If you have heard about Sunny Boy cereal, then
Joyce’s life has touched your life. In 1926, Edgar
Byers and Ruby (Murdock) Byers, along with Edgar’s
brother Walter, loaded a stone mill on the train from West New Annan
to Camrose, Alberta. When they arrived in Alberta, they established
Byers Flour Mills, creators of the popular Sunny Boy
cereal. In 1928, two years after the move to the Prairies,
Joyce was born. Joyce had fond memories of her life in Camrose despite
the Great Depression of the time. « Nobody had much back
then, » she would say, « but we were fortunate because
we had the mill. » « Because of the mill, we had flour
and because we had flour, we always had
bread. »
In 1936 Edgar moved the family back to New Annan. The house
Edgar built where Joyce grew up and where she stayed until she and Bud
retired, is still standing, not too far from Byer’s Corner.
Joyce graduated from the one-room Byers schoolhouse and then attended
nursing school in Moncton, New Brunswick.
Her nursing career took her to Camp Hill Hospital in Halifax,
where among other duties, she worked the TB ward. At work one day, a
young man named Clayton came to visit his uncle on the ward.
He became a frequent visitor, not just for his uncle but for the tall,
beautiful nurse he met there. Joyce and Bud were married December 1,
1956 and settled in Fredericton, New Brunswick, where Joyce continued
her nursing career, this time in a private clinic. Joyce paused her
working life to stay home and raise Jon and she returned to part-time
nursing work in the early 1980s.
Joyce pursued several hobbies with enthusiasm and skill. She
and Bud were avid ballroom dancers and earned their silver
designation. She was a committed volunteer at the North Shore Archives
and the Museum in Tatamagouche. She was also a painter of landscapes
and wildlife, focusing on Nova Scotia scenes. Joyce and Bud were also
regulars at bridge and card parties in Wentworth. In the 80s, 90s and
early 2000s, Joyce and Bud traveled extensively in Europe and parts of
the US, usually with their friends, Don and Lillian Sutherland, Murray
and Carrie Matheson, and Don and Betty Byers.
Toronto was added to their travel list when their son, Jon
moved after university, and where later, to her unbridled delight, her
grandson, Dexter arrived in the family. She happily transitioned into
her Nana role, doting on him, holding him, and, as he got older, doing
jigsaw puzzles and playing board games. She was an expert at
crosswords, a tough opponent in Scrabble, and, as her grandson
discovered, a formidable one at Sorry. She made the best homemade
dinner rolls, and the most delicious lemon squares and chocolate
bonbons. She will be remembered by her family as a kind soul with a
generous heart.
A memorial and celebration of Joyce’s life will be
scheduled when pandemic travel restrictions are lifted. In lieu of
flowers, a donation to organizations saving and caring for animals, a
cause dear to Joyce’s heart, would be
appreciated.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Mattatall –
Varner Funeral Home, 55 Young Street, Truro. Private messages of
condolence may be sent to the family by viewing Joyce’s
obituary on-line and selecting « Send A Condolence »
at: www.mattatallvarnerfh.com
19282020
Nos plus sincères sympathies à la famille et aux amis de Joyce Marie Byers MacCall 19282020..
Décès pour la Ville: Truro, Province: Nova Scotia