Tribute

JOY NOELLE HIBBERD, passed away peacefully on Sunday, January 19^th in her 94^th year, at the Evergreen Extended Care Unit of the Powell River General Hospital. She is survived by her children Rick (Marilyn), Wendy (Don), and Patricia, and her sister-in-law Shirley Koleszar. She was predeceased by her beloved husband Dick of 67 years in 2017, daughter Shelley in 1975 and sister June in 2019. She is lovingly remembered by her grandchildren Jeffrey (Sarah), Tyler (Casandra), Alastair (Jacqueline), Emily and Nicole, great grandchildren Spencer, Valerie, Nora and Preston, and her nieces and nephews.  Joy, “Mom”, “Grandma”, “Great-Grandma”, “Auntie Joy”, was a proud matriarch of her extended family.

Born in Vancouver to Walter and Gladys Cook, Joy attended Lord Byng High School in the suburb of Dunbar. She was May Queen of the Anglican Church in 1944 and a member of the Edo Club at school devoted to various projects supporting the war effort and maintained a lifelong connection with several co-members. She worked as an assistant librarian at Max Cameron High School for nearly twenty years.

Joy always had music in her life.  She was an active member of several choirs including the St. Philips Anglican Church choir in Vancouver as a child, the Ethel Eason Singers and the St. David’s Anglican Church Choir in Powell River. She was also a founding member of the Powell River Choral Society, now the Powell River Chorus, and was a member for thirty years. Joy helped to establish the Powell River Osteoporosis support group and became an honorary member of the Osteoporosis Society of Canada. She was an excellent swimmer and dancer, an active hiker and avid bridge player.

Joy and Dick were married in Vancouver in 1950 and lived in Procter, B.C. before moving to Powell River in 1953. Joy was a devoted wife and mother, actively supporting Dick and her children in all their various activities, projects and careers all while maintaining her family home on Westview Avenue. She and Dick often hosted a variety of guests from all over the world, as well as many family, friends and colleagues, both in Powell River and at the Hibberd family property on Gambier Island. They enjoyed traveling in Canada, Hawaii, New Zealand, Europe, and Africa, and both worked as volunteers in the field of education in The Gambia for three months in 1985.

Joy will be sadly missed by all her family and many friends.

The family would like to express its thanks and appreciation to the staff at Evergreen Extended Care Unit  for their compassionate and patient care of Joy over her five year stay at the facility, as well as to Patti Anderson and Whitney La-Fortune at the Powell River Hospice.  Special thanks to Gail Curtis and Anne Walter for their unwavering support and friendship over many years.