Joan Phyllis Bell
November 20, 1930 - June 6, 2018
Joan Phyllis Bell, passed away at Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon during the morning hours of Wednesday June 6, 2018 surrounded by her family. Joan is survived by her special friend and partner in life Harold, her three sons, Scott (Rob), Drew (Shanna) and Roger (Tamara); grandson Jakob, granddaughter Lauren, brother Tim (Isabel), sisters-in-law Nancy and Marcie and numerous nephews and nieces. She was predeceased by her husband Thomas in 2003, her parents John Edward and Mary Hazel Coates, her brothers Max, Walter and Doug (Merle) and sisters Helen (Lloyd), Eileen (Earle) and Laura (Alec). Joan was raised in a family of eight children on a farm east of Leask, Saskatchewan. On completion of grade XII she attended Teachers College in Saskatoon. She and her late husband Tom taught many years in Prince Albert where they raised their three sons. They spent many joyous times at their Emma Lake cabin and the Leask farm both of which have remained in and are enjoyed by the family to the present day. During her years in Prince Albert, Joan enjoyed travelling with her family. Together they experienced many sights and cultures from across Canada, Europe, the United States and the Caribbean. Joan attained a BEd Degree, A PGD in Early Childhood Education and a MEd in Exceptionality Education at the University of Saskatchewan. She was proud to say she taught students from Kindergarten to grade twelve. During her career as a teacher, she received accolades and awards because of her love of children and concern for students with special needs. She was proud to be involved with the development of the Early Childhood Education Council, the Council for Exceptional Children and the North Central Reading Council. In 1986 she was honoured with the Joe Duffy Memorial Award by the Saskatchewan English Teachers’ Association. Joan loved writing poetry and stories throughout her life. She especially enjoyed reciting poems for young children and recalling poems learned during her public and high-school days. She always credited her parents for fostering this love of poetry. In 2015 Joan published The Power of Poetry, a collection of poems written by Joan and her family, others passed down from her parents and favorites she had acquired along the way. As a graduate of the University of Saskatchewan Joan served on the Board of Governors and the Senate. Her interest in supporting health advocacy led to her support of Medicare in 1962 and she and her husband Tom helped establish the Prince Albert Co-operative Heath Centre. They Joined the Saskatoon Community clinic when they moved to Saskatoon in 1996. In 2006 a relationship blossomed between Joan and Harold Chapman. Harold, who Joan referred to as her “special friend”, shared a common passion for social justice, politics and the co-operative movement. Together they played a key role as members of the Station 20 West fundraising committee, volunteered in many capacities with the Saskatoon Community Clinic and worked on numerous NDP election campaigns. They also enjoyed travelling, highlights of which included a Mediterranean cruise and regular trips to Costa Rica to visit youngest brother Tim, his wife Isabel and family. Joan is well known in the community for her social activism and compassion for those less fortunate. She was a loud and proud member of the Raging Grannies with whom she sang at many social protest events. Joan’s social activism was inspired by a conviction that grass roots community mobilization would achieve a more fair and just society. In January of this year Joan received the Saskatoon Community Clinic’s Outstanding Volunteer Contribution Award for her work on the clinic’s Seniors Advisory Council, Silver Threads Seniors group, the Member Services Committee and for her life long involvement in the Co-operative Community Clinic movement. Above all else, Joan valued and loved her family. Her three boys, their families, Tom and later Harold were the centre of Joan’s world. She cherished her time together with them and there was always room in the calendar for another family function. Annual gatherings of the Bell and Coates clans over Christmas, the May long weekend at the farm and labour day at the cabin were the most anticipated and enjoyed events of the year. Joan was a joyous person who loved life, living each moment to its fullest. She had an indomitable spirit and boundless energy for the causes she championed and people she held dear. A loving person who spread the joy of living, Joan will be greatly missed and forever remembered by her family and friends. The Memorial Service will be held at McClure United Church in Saskatoon on Friday June 15th, 2018 at 1:30 p.m. In lieu of flowers the family asks you make a donation in Joan’s name to the Saskatoon Community Clinic Foundation or Station 20 West. Condolences may be left for the family at www.saskatoonfuneralhome.com. Arrangements have been entrusted to Saskatoon Funeral Home 306-244-5577