Dr. Joyce Connolly, MD, FRCP(C)

With profound sadness, we announce the passing of Dr. Joyce Elaine Connolly (a.k.a Dr. Joyce Dunnison, née Joyce Garnett). Physician, psychiatrist, professor, researcher, trouble-maker, winner of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal for her exceptional philanthropy, with an infectious laugh and unbridled kindness, our beloved family matriarch passed away peacefully on May 21st, 2024. Joyce was predeceased by her brother Don (Margaret) and will be missed by her brother Doug; her children David (Alexandra), James (Day) and Elaine; her grandchildren Ryan, Connor, Spencer and Ava; her nephew Doug (Nancy); and many close friends.

Even at a young age, Joyce distinguished herself academically, musically and athletically. She was elected President of her graduating class at Magee Secondary School in Vancouver, and in her senior year scored all nine goals in Magee’s 9-0 provincial Field Hockey Championship win.

As a medical student at the University of Toronto in the 1960s (class of ’68), Joyce was a single mother with two toddlers. She excelled in her studies but was challenged by her triple role as parent, full-time student and sole family breadwinner – at a time in our society when the odds were stacked against single mothers.

She was planning to take a year off school, just to make ends meet, but then discovered an ally and friend in Dr. John Drennan Hamilton, the University of Toronto’s Dean of Medicine at the time. Dean Hamilton recognized her academic prowess, took her under his wing, and went above and beyond to ensure Joyce was fully supported with awards, bursaries and loans to complete her medical studies.

Joyce enjoyed a long and rewarding career. After practicing as a family doctor for several years in Vancouver, she completed a residency in psychiatry at the University of British Columbia and became an associate professor of psychiatry at UBC and a pediatric neuropsychiatrist. Joyce’s research was published on both Tourette syndrome and adolescent epilepsy.

Long grateful for the financial assistance she received through Dean Hamilton at the University of Toronto, Joyce felt compelled to follow that lead. She created the Stepping-Stone Foundation in 2002 to ensure single parents at a university level would have the means to fulfill their aspirations. Her endowment through Stepping-Stone has given a leg up to more than 100 struggling students at Langara College in Vancouver. Continuing to build on that, Joyce established multiple awards at the University of Toronto – all with the laser-sharp focus to back and support a path forward for single parents: the Dean Hamilton Bursary at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, three Dr. Joyce Connolly Awards in Nursing, and three Dr. Joyce Connolly Awards at Woodsworth College.

Joyce’s medical and philanthropic career was complemented by her role as a part-owner and director on the board of Coast Paper. In her retirement, she also spent four years studying art full-time in Florence, where she flourished as a painter and student of art history. Additionally, Joyce served as a founding director of Vancouver’s Cartwright Street Gallery and saw it through its transition to the Canadian Craft Museum.

But the most important thing to share and remember about Joyce, as all of us who knew her would agree, was her boundless humanity and ability to talk to, laugh with and relate to absolutely anyone, from her patients to cab drivers to students to stuffy academics. And not just her ability, but her passion for it.

They broke the mold when they made Joyce, and the world will be a lesser place without her. May she serve as an example to all of us of what is possible and achievable in a life well-lived, and of the importance of basic human kindness.

A Celebration of Joyce’s Life will be held later this year, with the date and location to be announced. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory to the Alzheimer Society of British Columbia. Please send donations by cheque to Suite 300 – 828 West 8th Avenue, Vancouver, BC, V5Z 1E2, or donate online at alzbc.org.