1931 ~ 2013
It is with sadness that we announce the passing of our mother, grandmother, great grandmother, mother‐in‐law and friend Joyce O’Reilly. Joyce passed away peacefully on November 23, 2013, at the Mt. Cartier Court Residential Care Facility in Revelstoke BC. She was 82 years old.
Joyce was born on January 13, 1931, in Edmonton Alberta. Joyce, along with her twin sister Joan, was in the middle of five children, having two brothers, Bob and Gerry and a little sister Denise. As a young girl, she and Joan spent their time riding their bikes around, what was then, west Edmonton or at Lac Ste. Anne with the family and their dog Rover.
Joyce said that she knew from the time she was a little girl that she wanted to be a nurse, and in 1951 Joyce entered the Archer Memorial Hospital’s School of Nursing in Lamont, Alberta. It was here, over the next three years, that Joyce, not only gained an education in the field of medicine, but established a friendship and bond with her twelve classmates that would span six decades and endures to this day, the closest which would be with her dear friend Veso. Joyce graduated as a Registered Nurse in September of 1953.
On a trip to Victoria BC in 1956 Joyce met a tall Aussie named Steve, and on a sunny October day of that year they were married in Edmonton. They initially lived Edmonton, however after several stints between Sydney Australia and Edmonton, Joyce and Steve finally settled in Ft. Saskatchewan Alberta where Joyce worked as a nurse at the Rivercrest Lodge Nursing Home. It was here they raised their four children, Mary‐Ellen, Anne‐Marie, Laura‐Lynn and Glen.
Joyce said, that as a young girl she remembers standing in front of their house in Edmonton, and looking at the white clouds on the edge of the prairie horizon, pretend they were mountains, and had wished she could live in a mountain town. In 1987 that wish came true when Joyce and Steve moved to Revelstoke to be closer to their grandchildren.
Joyce put her nursing cap back on and worked for a while at the Selkirk Clinic. However, Joyce’s real delight was working at the Geidt’s antique store, on Mackenzie Ave., where she took pleasure in meeting and talking with all the tourists. In later years Joyce could be found curled up in a lawn chair with a cup of coffee at Steve’s stall, at the farmer’s market, visiting with the family and the locals. Joyce secretly desired to be a writer and a political cartoonist, but was happy to dabble in writing and painting, and as with most writers, was reluctant to share her stories. Her true passion though was flowers, and she loved nothing more that to be sitting in her garden basking in the hot sun of a Revelstoke afternoon.
Joyce spent her last few years in the “Cottages” at Mt. Cartier Court, where she confused the nursing staff with her nocturnal lifestyle, amazed them with her insatiable sweet tooth and amused them with her dry wit… as she did for all of us. Joyce’s passing has left a hole in our hearts, she will be missed.
Joyce is predeceased by her husband Steve and her daughter Laura‐Lynn, and is survived by her three remaining children, her son‐in‐law, ten grandchildren, ten great grandchildren, two grand‐dogs and one grand‐cat.
At Joyce’s request she was cremated with no service.
The Family of Joyce O’Reilly
Would like to thank the following:
First and foremost; The Care‐Aids, Nurses and staff at Cottage‐B for their attentive care.
Sheila Geidt for being such a good bingo partner and friend.
Dr. C. MacDonald, physician and friend.
Gary Sulz at Brandon Bowers Funeral Service for the gracious service.
We would also like to thank all those who have offered
their sympathy and condolences at our time of loss.
