We are celebrating the Life and Times of Joan MacLeod. Joan passed away peacefully at home, as per her wishes, early on the morning of July 2nd, 2021. As a proud Canadian she waited to celebrate one last Canada day before departing this earth to join her husband of over 50 years Gene MacLeod. A Celebration of Life will be scheduled at a later date.
Joan was born in Victoria on October the 19th, 1927 as Winifred Joan Beecher to Annie and Robert Beecher. She was known by many names throughout her life; Joan, Nurse Beecher, Dear, Mom, Auntie Joan, Gran and Great Gran but never as Winifred.
Because she lived such a long and full life Joan had a very wide circle of family, friends and acquaintances. Many have passed away before her, but she is survived by her three children William (Bill), Robert (Bob), and Patricia (Pat) seven grandchildren; Andrew, Amanda, Vicki, Collin, Byron, Ola and Magenta, plus four great grandchildren Teja, Ajeet, Benjamin and Joan. Thank you to all the nieces, nephews, spouses and other family members and great friends who have provided love and companionship over the past years.
Many accomplishments of her husband, children and grandchildren were treasured by Joan and brought her great pleasure but her greatest personal accomplishment was her career and life as a Registered Nurse. Long after she retired from employment as a nurse, she was still the nurse consultant to family, friends, the village at Jordan River and even to the nurses and doctors that were caring for her during her last years. Many people have worked at nursing but for her it was a true calling.
She trained for nursing with the Sisters of Saint Joseph and worked for many years at Saint Josephs Hospital in Victoria in increasingly responsible nursing roles. Her greatest joy there, was the many years she spent as night supervisor and, after everyone else went home, she got to run the hospital as she knew how it should be run. She left St joes to join with a group of her colleagues to reform and improve the provision of Long-term Care in Victoria. When Gene’s work took them both to Nanaimo, she resumed hospital nursing as a supervisor at the Nanaimo Hospital.
After she and Gene both retired in 1986, they moved to Jordan River to property owned by her sister Doreen and husband Dick. They expanded and renovated the house that then served as a home base for successive waves of visits by children and grandchildren. In July of 2020, the whole family arrived to visit as Gene and Joan celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a party at Jordan River.
Aside from family and career there were four or five great passions in Joan’s life. The first was community service and friendship through the Lions Club. Gene and Joan were active participants in the Lions Club throughout their marriage. Many friends and acquaintances were made while serving their community.
The second passion was games and cards of all sorts. Always the competitor, she didn’t just play cards for fun, she played to win. Right to the end she was interested to sit down and start up an old favorite or learn a new game, but it was important to keep score because she intended to win.
The third passion was travel. Gene and Joan always seemed to have some sort off recreational vehicle. When the family was young it was a travel trailer as a favorite summer activity at Shawnigan Lake. In retirement they purchased an R.V. nicknamed ‘the unit’, which they used to travel all over North America, visiting family and friends and making new friends along the way.
The fourth passion was crafting and knitting. With her sister Doreen they produced a wide assortment of knitted goods and crafts with the sock monkeys and the monkey hats being the all-time favourites. For many years the “Monkey Hat Ladies” were regular features at the Sooke craft fair and were missed sorely when they stopped participating. All of the grand children and great grandchildren received he knitted treasure or sweater along the way as their remembrance of Gran.
The 5th passion was the grace and fellowship of church which she received through her participation at Centennial United Church. She and Gene were married in Centennial United Church on July 21st, 1950 which was the 25th wedding anniversary of the marriage of her Mom and Dad in the same church. Centennial United remained an important part of her life for her whole life. For this reason, we ask that instead of flowers, a donation be made to Centennial United Church, 612 David St., Victoria, BC, www.cucvictoria.com/donations
Condolences may be offered to the family below.
McCall Gardens
www.mccallgardens.com
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Joan Macleod October 19 1927 July 2 2021..
mccall gardens funeral and cremation service
Death notice for the town of: Victoria, Province: Colombie britanique