July 21, 1926 - February 9, 2022
In Loving Memory ~
Joyce Johnson (Barbour) passed away at Swan Valley Lodge in Creston, BC at the remarkable age of 95 1/2 .
Joyce was born in Pincher Creek Alberta On July 21, 1926. She grew up in the Alberta Foothills and moved, along with her parents, to Creston BC in the mid-1940's. She worked as a secretary for Creston Valley High School until she met and then on June 30, 1950, married Robert (Bob) Johnson from up the road in Kitchener BC.
Between 1951 and 1956 they moved around a bit, living in Montreal and Vancouver while Bob was in the Royal Canadian Air Force, and then in Kimberley where he worked as an electrician for the Sullivan Mine.
In 1956 they returned to Creston, where they bought a home and raised their six children. When Joyce returned to the workforce, she got a job with the Creston Credit Bureau, and then moved on to the Royal Bank Creston Branch where she worked as a loans officer until her retirement. She was a long-time member of the Order of the Eastern Star in Creston, and was a Sunday regular at the United Church.
After all the kids went their separate ways, Bob and Joyce decided Kootenay Lake was the place to be, so they sold the Creston house and moved to Sanca in 1976. They spent the next 13 years enjoying their lakefront home, until Bob's unexpected passing in 1989. Not long after that Joyce sold the lake house and for the next 30 plus years made Nelson her home.
Joyce had a plethora of hobbies and pastimes, including petitpoint and needlepoint, knitting, embroidery, stamp and coin collecting. She and Bob enjoyed playing cards with their friends in a Bridge Club. Joyce loved music and sang in the Creston United Church Choir.
She had a knack for gardening and had an especially magic touch when it came to her roses, begonias and violets.
Then, with her health declining, she moved back to Creston in July 2021 where she was a resident of Swan Valley Lodge until her passing on February 9, 2022.
Joyce was predeceased by her parents, sister Elisabeth (Betty) Barker, twin brother John (Jack) Barbour, and half-sister Beverley Hemphill. She lost her husband Bob in 1989 and her youngest daughter Joanne Rickaby January 1, 2022
She is survived by daughters Vicki McDonald Gabriola BC, Karen Shimoda Lethbridge AB, Georgia Schuler West Creston BC and sons Duane (Victoria BC) and Bernie (Nelson BC)
She is also survived by 12 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren
A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.
Memorial Donations can be made to the BC Cancer Society