Joyce Lorraine Chinn

Husband, Albert (Al) Chinn preceded her in death on October 6, 2018. She is survived by sons, Steven Chinn (daughter-in-law, Janice) and Curtis Chinn (daughter-in-law, Maki, and grandchildren, Spencer and Madeline).

Joyce Lorraine Chan was born in Portland, Oregon to Richard and Alice Chan on February 21, 1929. Though an only child, Richard and Alice’s deep roots in the Pacific Northwest made for a childhood rich in the warmth of family, which was precious to Joyce. While she had been born during the Depression Era, Joyce would often describe her childhood as pleasant, one of curiosity and filled with discovery. Days were occupied with pets, climbing trees, and hanging out with neighborhood kids. She described it as a time of happy innocence.

Joyce attended Shattuck Elementary School and then Clinton Kelly High School of Commerce (now known as Cleveland High School) in Portland, Oregon, accumulating many friends along the way. Upon graduation, Joyce enrolled in Multnomah Junior College in Portland to further her education. Around this time, Reverend Harold Hebblethwaite, a Methodist minister who was impactful in many areas of her life, let her know of an opportunity to study at Idaho State College in Pocatello, Idaho and Joyce relocated there to do so. Later, she was granted a scholarship to attend another Methodist university, College of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington, where she majored in Sociology and minored in Psychology, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree. It was also there in Tacoma where Joyce’s life took on an entirely different trajectory from academia.

A friend of Joyce’s college roommate introduced “Sweetheart of Zeta Chi”, Joyce Chan to a dashing United States Air Force SSGT, Al Chinn. A courtship ensued and they were married at the chapel on McChord Air Force Base in Washington on December 11, 1955. After a honeymoon in Honolulu, Hawaii, the couple embarked on a partnered life of travel and adventure through assignments to Tachikawa Air Force Base in Japan (where son Steve was born), Andrews Air Force Base, in Maryland (where son Curtis was born), Tachikawa Air Force Base in Japan, Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, and finally Yokota Air Force Base, in Japan.

Every year during the holiday season, a full to overflowing mailbox of glad tidings from addresses all over the world attested to the nature and number of friends they had made, each rich in experiences and warm memories to match.

In 1971, after a distinguished 30 year military career, Joyce and Al Chinn retired to the Portland area, a location both considered “home”, where they could finally see friends and relatives much more frequently than far away duty assignments would allow. Though the ability to visit friends and family was important, Joyce and Al again found themselves traveling to many different locations, ironically, often to visit with other friends from the military, or to visit family living out of state, or to visit with sons who had also joined the Air Force and were located elsewhere. Sometimes they would travel simply to see or experience something new.

As age advanced, the pace of activities tapered. In her youth, Joyce was known to play tennis, ski, swim, and more. In midlife, time was invested in running a household, conducting Cub Scout activities and keeping her two sons otherwise occupied. Post retirement activities morphed into gardening, socializing with friends over coffee and being quietly content watching her sons and their families grow. She was secretly pleased at the fine people her grandchildren had become.

Joyce Chinn will be missed by many.

A celebration of Joyce Chinn’s life will be held Friday, June 26, 2026 at Lincoln Memorial Funeral Home in Happy Valley, Oregon.