Juanita P. Toland

Juanita Pearl Toland was born January 8, 1928 in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. On December 26, 1945 she married Calvin C. Toland. Juanita is preceded in death by her parents; Lester and Alma Meeks, and brother; Leslie Ted Meeks. She is survived by her husband of 67 years; Calvin C. Toland; daughter, Lita Mae Paulson (Joe); son, Dennis R. Toland (Janet); seven grandchildren; Brian Banister, Paul Banister, Keith Banister, Michael Toland, Leah Toland, Heather Toland Croft, Katelan Toland and three great-grandchildren; Christina Banister, Breanna Croft, and Brook Croft.

Juanita worked for almost 38 years caring for individuals with special needs, ranging in age from infant to adult. Her career exemplifies the type of loving person Juanita was. Although she didn’t have a nurses' license, she had a God-given ability to diagnose and treat clients in her care. At one point, one of the doctors she knew offered to pay her way through medical school, but Juanita opted not to go because it would have taken time away from her family and her patients who needed her.

Juanita loved her family with all of her heart. The main décor in her home was the array of family photos found throughout the house, not to mention the volumes of photo albums found in the bookcases. She enjoyed creating personalized, homemade gifts for her loved ones, including crochet, knitting, macramé, ceramics, and artwork. She was a multi-talented woman. In her later years, she spent a great deal of time tracing the family genealogy and making copies of it for the family.

It is unfortunate that the rest of the world never had the opportunity to listen to her sweet voice sing. Music touched her soul, sometimes making her smile and sometimes making her cry. Juanita had a smile that would light up a room. Whenever she would smile, her eyes would sparkle. She also loved to laugh. Whenever she would laugh, soon, everyone in the room would also be laughing, even if they didn’t know what was so funny. Everyone found it amusing that Juanita could never tell a joke because she would start laughing as soon as she got near the punch line. But it didn’t matter that the joke was never finished, because it was just as funny to watch her try to tell it. She brought so much happiness to so many people.

Juanita always found joy in seeing other people healthy and happy and this attitude was not limited to just family members. Throughout her life, she would often sacrifice time, money, or whatever else might be required, to help someone in need. There isn’t one single family member who hasn’t been blessed by her kind and giving nature. Whenever she was unable to help someone in need, you can rest assured that she was diligently praying for them. No matter how helpless she might have felt at times, she never lost faith in God’s ability to work everything out for the best. It is fitting that Juanita loved to collect angel figurines, because she was an angel dove for so many people. Now, Juanita is singing with the angels. Thank you, God, for people like our beloved Juanita.

A visitation and service will be held for Juanita Tuesday, May 7, 2013, at Greenwood Memory Lawn Mortuary Chapel, 719 North 27th Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona. Visitation begins at 10:00 a.m., with service immediately following at 11:00 a.m.