Joyce Eileen McElroy

Joyce was born in Empress, AB, second daughter of Wilber (Mack) and Helen “Nellie” (Wilson) McGuckin. She grew up on a ranch near Cavendish, AB and attended school there and in Empress. This was a district for which she had a lifelong affection and often revisited. In 1951 she moved with her parents to the Maryland district near Calgary, AB.

After working at the Calgary Herald and the City of Calgary, where she was secretary to the mayor, Joyce married Morton McElroy in 1957 and lived happily on the farm at Chestermere for nearly 67 years. She attended First Baptist Church in Calgary and made many friends there. Joyce was active in community organizations including Chestermere Women of Unifarm, Chestermere Historical Society and the Canadian Cancer Society’s Daffodil Days.

She was predeceased by her parents, her sister Helen, brother and sister-in-law L.C. and Leo McGuckin, and brother-in-law and sister-in-law Hector and Helen McElroy. She is survived by her beloved family, son Donald, daughter Eileen (Warren Clayton), grandchildren Heather (fiancé Craig Findlay) and Kent Clayton (fiancée Kate Jardine), niece Donna Mae Hight of Boulder, CO, nephew Ron (Monica) McGuckin of Lyons, CO, and their families and by the McElroy nieces and nephews, Carol, George, Arthur, Matthew and Debra and their families.

Many thanks to the staff at Chinook Hospice for their compassionate care.

A Memorial Service will be held at FOSTER’S GARDEN CHAPEL, 3220 – 4 Street N.W., Calgary, Alberta (across from Queen’s Park Cemetery) on Thursday, July 4, 2024 at 2:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, friends may make a donation to the charity of their choice.