Joan Victoria Heard Walker

Joan Victoria Walker was a woman for whom actions would speak louder than words. The qualities of being fair, just and the ability to recognize what was right were clearly driving forces in Joan’s life. She was observant with an ability to be simultaneously spontaneous and keenly perceptive. Joan was modest in her actions and extremely literal in her thoughts and in the manner in which she communicated with others. When Joan said something, she meant it. All those who knew her appreciated this trademark quality.

       Joan, the daughter of Tom and May Heard (Gyde) was raised in Sudbury, New Liskeard and Thessalon. Even as a small child, Joan wanted to understand what was right and what was wrong in any given situation. As Joan grew older, she realized the importance of being treated fairly, and in return, she treated everyone around her the same way. This belief in fair play served Joan well throughout her life and despite her natural shyness; she enjoyed a solid group of friends.

      Joan treated those around her with respect. She would look at the most reasonable and practical ways to settle any disputes. Joan was raised with five siblings. She had three younger brothers, Eddie, Don and Doug (deceased) and two younger sisters, Edith (deceased) and Gale. Joan was constantly involved in activities with her siblings. She and her siblings had the typical rivalries while growing up, but they shared many life experiences.

      During her childhood, family and friends viewed Joan as a quiet and reserved person with what most would consider a calm and tranquil demeanor. A great deal of Joan’s free time was spent learning how and why the things around her worked. She was an active child who loved being outdoors either swimming, bike riding or ice skating. She also loved to read, knit and cook.

The fact that she was curious was an asset to Joan while she was in school. She possessed strong study skills and good concentration. Joan enjoyed tackling the project that was right in front of her and working it straight through to its conclusion. Experience was Joan’s best teacher. In high school in Thessalon she enjoyed some courses and teachers more than others. Joan left school after Grade 10 because she could not take a course that she wanted. She excelled at business classes and when Stenography was not offered, she and a few others left school. Around this time she took advantage of a chance to go to Farmerette camp. She often spoke fondly of the time she spent there and of how much she learned about gardening.

This same loyalty and up front honesty Joan shared with her friends carried over to other aspects of her life, including her relationships with her family. On May 4, 1949, Joan exchanged wedding vows with Harold Wilbert Walker at the Church of the Redeemer in Thessalon, ON. The marriage became an enduring relationship, due in part to the couple's determination to provide a solid home full of warmth and tradition for each other and their family. She was a great listener who enjoyed the couple’s “together” time, especially when it came to celebrating special occasions.

As the family grew, Joan was easily able to adapt to the changes and challenges of parenthood. Joan and Harold were blessed with five children, four daughters, Sandra, Carol, Janice and Nancy (deceased) and one son, Tom. They were also blessed with eight grandchildren, Erin Chapman, Michael Watson, Heather Watson, Jeff Wong, Lianne Gallenero, Liam, Riley and Owen Shore. They were also blessed with seven great grandchildren, Ella and Abby Chapman, Mason and Avery Gallenero, Kristopher Palacio-Gallenero, Jack Watson and Boston Wong. Joan was never impulsive in dealing with family problems. Instead, she would carefully think things through before implementing the solution in a logical and objective manner. At the same time, Joan’s inventive nature could turn some of the boring old household chores into a fun activity for the family.

Family and friends who were close to her knew that she was capable of unexpected flashes of humor. This wonderful sense of humour lasted to the end and endeared her to all she met. Joan’s good friends tended to be “doers” like herself. Even though the circle of friends was somewhat small, it was a strong and loyal group, and Joan liked nothing better than to spend her free time with them. Joan was well known for always being up front and open, never hiding her true feelings, qualities that drew deep loyalty from her friends because they understood and appreciated her for the person she was. While living in Thessalon, Joan was friends with Dorthy Cowen. Joan and Harold were good friends of the Goodmurphy and Crockford clans. On Fish Hatchery Road she was good friends with her neighbours, Cliff and Shirley Causley and Hubert and Joy Smith. She had many friends at the trailer camp at Hilton Beach on St. Joseph's Island. The Kings, the Brethats, and a very good friend, Shirley Chisholm were some of the people Joan looked forward to spending her summers with. Joan and Harold moved to the apartment on St. Mary's River Dr. in 1999 and it was here that she and Harold met the Gibbs, Ursula Dube, Carol Fera and Rose. Joan loved to work on jigsaw puzzles and she would meet Carol and Rose to work on puzzles in the Common Room. Ursula always managed to arrange outings to fish fries and lunches with a group of friends. After Harold passed away, Joan found pleasure in the company of her friends from the building.

           In her work life, Joan was the kind of person who had no difficulty in taking on a project and seeing it through to its completion. For Joan, being able to grasp the logical components of any task was significant to her in appreciating its importance. Joan spent most of her life working in the home as a homemaker. She worked for three years as a clerk at the Dime Store in Thessalon where she became good friends with Loris and Sandra. Joan was known to be a fabulous baker and she canned, preserved and froze most of the produce from Harold's garden each year. She babysat the neighbours boys when they were babies and she and Harold spent a few years working as the cleaning crew for Tom when he was manager at Wheelies Roller Rink. Joan always made the effort to be a team player, doing what was necessary in order to get the job done. She was always ready to welcome guests into her home, ready to share coffee and cake or a meal with them.

      Joan loved to create useful things and this influenced her choice of leisure pursuits as well. One of her favorite pursuits was knitting heavy weight Mary Maxim winter sweaters with large pictures on the back for anyone who wanted them. She would also knit sweaters or mittens with strings attached for her children and grandchildren every year for Christmas and new babies always received sweaters and bonnets. She also sewed clothing and made quilts, embroidered, gardened, baked great chocolate chip cookies, butter tarts and pies and made fabulous soups. She enjoyed reading and always had a book on the go. Joan loved her time at the trailer camp and always went to garage sales with Harold and enjoyed preparing for Christmas in July or an annual potluck dinner with her friends at Hilton Beach campground. She was able to enjoy summers at the trailer every year until 2012. Joan was content to enjoy her hobbies alone but was also willing to share her interests with others.

       She enjoyed walking with friends at camp and dancing with Harold. Joan was also something of a sports fan and enjoyed following her favorite events whenever she got the opportunity. She loved to watch Figure Skating, Curling and Dancing with the Stars on TV and was always excited to attend live events at the Memorial Gardens. Greyhound hockey with Harold and the Gibbs became a favourite event for a few years. She was always excited to see her grandchildren whenever they performed at their dance recitals and was always in attendance at their graduations and other special events.

            Joan appreciated the occasions when she was able to travel and get away on a vacation. She enjoyed learning about different locales and was open to exploring new and different places. Favorite vacation spots included camping in her trailer at Hilton Beach Trailer park for 40 years. She loved to visit with her children and grandchildren in Sudbury, Goderich and Ottawa. When they were younger, Joan and Harold would take the children to visit with her Aunt Alice and Uncle Art in Collingwood, her Aunt Mona and Uncle Cecil in Nottawa and with Dad's brother, Ralph and his wife Bernice in Woodstock. One year they took a trip to Florida with Bruce and Betty. She thoroughly enjoyed visiting with family and friends while seeing new places.

      As her retirement approached, Joan viewed the event as just one more project to tackle. Her new life involved relocating to an apartment on St. Mary's River Dr. so that it would be easier for Harold to manage after his stroke. In retirement, she found new pleasure in playing Skipbo with her friend Shirley and working on puzzles with her friends at the apartment on St. Mary's River Dr. They were always looking for her help because she had a keen eye and could always find the pieces that were needed. She also spent several years taking good care of Harold until he went to the Davey Home. She loved her little apartment and enjoyed the ability to meet friends at the mall and stay independent until she was 84 years old. She celebrated her 85th birthday in August. She spent three and a half months at the Davey Home before her death in October.

Joan was the type of person who would show others her feelings through her actions. She was practical and realistic but was able to be flexible when the need arose. She had a curiosity about the things around her and tried to experience life directly rather than sit back and talk about it. The experiences she treasured most were those she shared with her loved ones. Some of her family's favourite memories of their Mom, Grandma and Grammie are:

- Christmas Eve on Fish Hatchery Rd

- Christmas cake and cookies

- pickles and jellies and jams

- Berry picking

- Birthday cards

- how she always looked forward to summers at the trailer at Hilton Beach

- summer visits to camp, the parade and spider dogs

- was never losing her hearing... we just mumbled

- $20 bills folded up and handed to her grandkids and sometimes their parents

- worked hard to get dad ready to go hunting

- didn't like when the teen-aged grandkids called her Granny but accepted being called Grammie or Grandma

- watching the "door channel"

- shopping on Saturday afternoons with Sandra and coffee with Aunt Betty

- Grammie mints and her love of chocolate

- enjoyed 1/2 a cooler on the deck at camp usually with Shirley

- the love she always showed not only her family but her daughters and sons-in-law

- the love she had for her grandchildren and their spouses

- the way she looked forward to visits with her great grandchildren

- the love and teasing she shared with the staff on Birch 1 at the Davey Home

- the strength and resilience that she showed during many phases of her life

Joan passed away on Thursday, October 31, 2013 at the F. J. Davey Home in Sault Ste. Marie, On. Joan had kidney cancer which metastasized to her lungs, brain and bones and she suffered from increasing dementia. She is survived by her children Sandra and Ron, Carol and Ken, Tom and Karin and Janice and Bill. Her grandchildren are Erin (Bob), Mike(Eden), Heather(Trent), Jeff(Breanne), Lianne(Wil), Liam, Riley and Owen and her great grandchildren are Ella, Abby, Mason, Avery, Kris, Jack and Boston. Services were held at the Arthur Funeral Home in Sault Ste.Marie, ON. Joan was laid to rest in Maple Ridge Cemetery in Thessalon, ON.

    Joan Victoria Walker will be greatly missed but her family wants her to know that there will always be tangerines in the basement!!

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WALKER, Joan Victoria (Heard) – Surrounded by family at the F.J. Davey Home on Thursday, October 31, 2013 in her 86th year. Wife of the late Harold Walker. Loving mother of Sandra Watson (Ronald), Carol Wong (Ken), Tom (Karin), Janice Shore (Bill) and the late Nancy. Special grandmother of Erin Chapman (Bob), Mike Watson (Eden), Heather Watson (Trent Abbott), Jeffrey Wong (Breanne), Lianne Gallenero (Wil), Liam, Riley and Owen Shore and Kristopher Palacio-Gallenero. Great grandmother of Ella and Abby Chapman, Mason and Avery Gallenero, Jack Watson and Boston Wong. Daughter of the late Thomas and Mae Heard. Sister of Ed Heard (Wilma), late Edith Gregory (Gord), Don Heard (Ruth), late Doug Heard (late Maureen) and Gale McCaig (Bernie). Sister in law of late Lloyd Walker (Lyla), Agnes Yule (late Andy), Gerald Walker (Blanche), Elva Lobban (late Gordon), late Bruce Walker (Betty), late Ralph Walker (Bernice) and Edith Partlo (Don). Also survived by many nieces and nephews. Special friend of Ursula Dube, Shirley Chisholm and Carol Fera. Friends may call at the Arthur Funeral Home & Cremation Centre on Sunday, November 3, 2013 from 11 am until funeral service in the chapel at 1 pm. Rev. Phil Miller officiating. Interment Maple Ridge Cemetery, Thessalon, ON on Monday, November 4, 2013 at 2:30 pm. Memorial contributions to the F.J. Davey Home or the Canadian Cancer Society would be appreciated. A special thank you to the staff at the F.J. Davey Home, Jennifer and Leo of CCAC, the Cancer Care Clinic, Bayshore Healthcare and We Care Home Health Services. Expressions of sympathy may be offered at www.arthurfuneralhome.com