Joyce Kerr, nee Catherine Lilian Joyce East.
Joyce was born in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England to Walter Webster and Louisa Henrietta; the second of seven children. She was predeceased by her beloved husband, Con (John Connel Wilson Kerr) May 7th, 1992, and by all of her siblings.
Joyce served in the ATS in England where she met her handsome Canadian sergeant of the Canadian Signals Corps. They were married in the parish church of St. James on June 28th, 1943.
In May of 1945, Joyce traveled to Canada aboard the Britannic with her infant daughter, Barbara Lynne, along with many other war brides, landing at Pier 21 in Halifax.
Joyce then traveled across half of Canada by train to meet her in-laws in Wolseley, Saskatchewan. To the end of her life, she always expressed her gratitude at how her new family welcomed her with open arms and hearts.
With Con back from the war, Joyce and Con moved near Cabri Saskatchewan, where Dad taught at Gavrelle, a one-room-school, and where mom learned to survive the rigours of a Saskatchewan prairie winter. In 1948, they moved to Flin Flon with a new baby, Kathleen Joyce (Katy). Over the next years, Joyce and Con had two more children, Elizabeth Louise (Betsy), and John Connel (John).
As no kindergarten was available in the early days in Flin Flon, mom felt one was needed for her own two young daughters, Katy and Betsy, and set one up in our basement where many children of the neighbourhood were welcomed.
Mom prided herself in providing delicious, nutritious meals for her family and friends. Her fingers were never still; as youngsters our many matching outfits were beautifully sewn by mom, and we all have fond memories of the gorgeous sweaters those busy fingers knitted for each of us over the years.
In later years she knitted lovely baby layettes for her all grandchildren, many neighbourhood babies, and the hospital auxiliaries in all the communities she lived in were provided with her beautifully knitted creations.
On Con’s retirement from the Flin Flon School Division June, 1976, Joyce and Con moved to Neepawa where they spent many happy years. Their passions there included a bird-filled garden and playing bridge with old friends and new. Later, finding the winters more difficult, they first moved to Abbotsford and then to Kelowna in 1991.
In Kelowna, now alone, Mom enjoyed many happy years as part of the Sunshiners – the Sunshine Theatre support group, and as an associate member of Kelowna G&CC.
Her late dear friends, Jeannie and Betty, made her Kelowna years busy and fulfilling.
Mom moved to Parksville in 2010 where she enjoyed the friendly welcoming atmosphere of the community, along with the friends she made and the kind staff during her years at Stanford.
Since June 2017, she’s been cared for with thoughtfulness and gentleness by her caregivers at Eagle Park, with its beautiful gardens providing her with many happy hours.
Joyce leaves to remember her, her four children and spouses, six grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews both across Canada and Europe.
There will be no service at her request, but a gathering of family and friends will be held at a later date.
Anyone wishing to donate in her memory please choose a food bank of your choice or The Garden Fund at Eagle Park c/o Nanaimo & District Hospital Foundation, website: nanaimohospitalfoundation.com
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Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Joyce Kerr Saturday April 27th 2019..
Death notice for the town of: Flin-Flon, Province: Manitoba