Joycelyn E. Diederichs

Joy was born November 15, 1931 near Wakaw, SK to Martin and Mary (nee Schneider) Isinger. She is predeceased by her husband, Walter Diederichs (d. 2018); their eldest, James (d. 2019); and their eldest grandson, Brett (d. 2021).

Joy and Walter met when they were 19 and 20 years old. Joy had just graduated from Normal School and was teaching at St. Aloysius, a rural one room schoolhouse located not far from the Diederichs homestead. They married July, 1953. Joy and Walter spent the early years of their marriage living in teacherages around central Saskatchewan, in Saskatoon and finally returning to Cudworth. In the spring of 1963, they purchased a farm near Cudworth where they raised their family of six. They remained in the Cudworth community for more than 50 years until moving to Calgary to be closer to family.

Joy spent many years teaching at the Cudworth School where she was affectionately known as Mrs. D. She was also known to whip up fudge as a science lesson, to spoil her students with sea foam candy decorated to suit any holiday and to head outside with her class to search for signs of spring’s arrival. Teaching was her vocation. When asked, Joy was clear: there was no career she would have chosen instead.

In retirement, Joy and Walter crisscrossed Canada and the USA, visiting the kids and grandkids, treasure hunting for collections, and trying out penny and nickel slot machines at casinos enroute. When not traveling she spent hours cross stitching intricate pictures. Her goal was to complete one for each grandchild and she came very close to achieving this. Joy suffered from dementia in her final years but she maintained her sense of humour and mischief, and an intuited connection to family and friends. She may not have remembered who someone was but she did know that they were one of hers.

Joy will be deeply missed by James’ wife, Brenda, of Victoria, BC and daughter, Kirsten (Mark), of Melbourne, Australia; Thomas (Shelley) and their children: Lauren (Patrick) and Erica (Brandon) all of Calgary; Peter (Susan) of Sherwood Park, AB and their children: Victoria (David) of Corvallis, Oregon and Katherine of Calgary; Jeffrey (Karen) of Calgary and their children: Matthew (Maria) of Black Diamond, AB, Stephen (Alice) of Lisbon, Portugal and Anna (Shaun) of Vancouver; Cynthia (Mario) of Ottawa and their children: Eva (James) of Victoria, Lucas of Toronto and Zachary of Ottawa; and Colleen and her children: Julia, Jayna, Jeremiah and Lucas all of Calgary. In addition to kids and grandkids, Joy had the pleasure of meeting her first great-grandson, Nicholas, the son of Matthew and Maria.

The Funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Michael’s Roman Catholic Church, Cudworth, SK on Saturday, May 31, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. with Rev. Fr. Benjamin Ezekwudo as celebrant. Interment of the Urn will follow in St. Michael’s Cemetery.