Obituary of Doreen Joyce

It is with profound sadness that the children of Doreen Joyce announce their beloved mother’s passing on the twenty-ninth day of December, 2013, due to respiratory failure and age related decline of health. Doreen, in her eighty fifth year, was the wife of the late John “Bunny” Joyce who, after thirty years of marriage and the birth of their thirteen children, lost his life in a hunting accident in November, 1978. Heartbreakingly, as the result of a heart attack, her dear daughter, Pamela Sponagle (nee Joyce), also predeceased her in September of this year. Doreen and John had raised their large family on Westville Road and Mt. William, but Doreen later spent many years living in Whitby, Ont. and later on Acadia Ave., Westville. Before her marriage in 1948, Doreen taught in a one-room schoolhouse on Caribou Island. She was a prodigious reader throughout her life and a well informed champion of causes. To her family, Doreen was a mentor, a confidant, and an advisor. She had a good sense of humour, loved music, and could dance and sing better than any of her children. In later years she enjoyed traveling, gardening, and crafts. Left to mourn her passing are her surviving 12 children in Nova Scotia and Ontario: Richard Joyce (Colleen); Louise Klein (Michael); Patricia Parker (Martin); Amelia “Ginger” Joyce (Wayne Lynch); Brian Joyce (Genevieve); Maida “Rusty” Babb (Donald); John Joyce Jr. (Edyth); Denise Joyce (Leo Vassart); Michael Joyce (Brenda); Patrick Joyce (Wendy); Nicole Joyce (Stephen Walsh); and Trina Joyce; and her 19 grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren, dispersed throughout Canada. She was predeceased, besides her husband and daughter, by parents, Truman and Viola (Miller) Megeney; brothers George, James, and Edgar Megeney; sisters Velma Martin, Amelia Savage, June Miller, Evelyn Reekie, and Amy Megeney in infancy. Per Doreen’s wishes, cremation has taken place. There will be no visitation or funeral by request. Interment in the family plot will take place at a later date. Arrangements are entrusted to Eagles Funeral Home, Westville. Special thanks to Glen Haven Manor for the wonderful care they gave to Mom and her family.