BROOKS, Joyce Ellen
November 26, 1953 – January 22, 2010
Joyce was born on November 26, 1953 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Her family farmed in the Copeland area, and later moved to Dafoe, then Elfros, then Wynyard. Joyce graduated from high school in Wynyard, and went on to receive a BA in English, then a BSc in Nursing from the U of S. Joyce received many awards in her academic career, including a national student nursing leadership award in 1984. Joyce worked at a variety of positions, including a number of years with the Faculty of English at U of S, until her graduation from nursing, when she began her career as a public health nurse in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. Joyce married Ralph Starks, and they made their home with their two daughters in Prince Albert. She loved her daughters unconditionally, and was fiercely proud of them. Joyce loved to travel, and spent a year in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. She later travelled with friends and with Ralph and her children throughout North America and the Caribbean, and she and her family most recently spent Christmas in Guatemala in 2006. Joyce had many wonderful people in her life, and loved nothing better than to spend time with old and new friends. She was an open-hearted, respectful and thoughtful friend, and was valued for her wisdom, intelligence, and sense of humour. She had a rare zest for life, she loved to be active, she loved swimming and got her red belt in taekwondo, and she loved to read. It was her openness and honesty about her illness, her strength, her skills and her assertiveness, and her positive outlook, that allowed those around her to meet her illness alongside her. Joyce was a good and loving person, and we will miss her. We wish to thank her friends, and all of the people in Prince Albert and beyond, for their caring support and compassion throughout Joyce’s illness. Joyce was predeceased by her father Jack and her sister Valerie. She is survived by her husband Ralph; her two daughters Alison and Katherine; her mother Kay; her sisters Jackie and Pat (Ken) and her children; Ralph’s parents, Ralph and Edith and his sisters Stephanie (Denis) and Sue (Jacques) and their children. Funeral Service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 26, 2009 at the Calvary United Church, 114 – 25th Street East, Prince Albert, SK with Reverend Nora Vedress officiating. Interment will be held at St. Mary’s Anglican Church Cemetery, Copeland, south of Dafoe on Wednesday January 27, 2010. In lieu of other tributes, memorial donations can be made to the charity of donor’s choice. Condolences may be sent to the family at www.grays.ca. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Gray's Funeral Chapel, Marianne Turcotte, Funeral Director.