Joyce Jackson

Joyce was born in the small town of Hastings, Oklahoma on July 28th, 1927. The town of Hastings was one of dirt streets and wooden sidewalks, but she often spoke about the happy childhood she had there. She was surrounded by family members and cousins who were all very close. The one thing they were all taught and practiced all their lives was the love of God. No matter how good or bad things got, they always turned to God for praise and guidance.

Joyce's grandparents were farmers and when the season to harvest came, Joyce could be found in the fields picking cotton with the rest of the family.

When World War II broke out, work was scarce so Joyce's parents moved the family to California. It was in California that Joyce met the love of her life, Doug Jackson. The interesting thing is that Doug was also born in the little town of Hastings, Oklahoma, but they never met until Joyce's family came to California. The families knew each other and Doug and Joyce were distantly related by marriage, but didn't know it. Doug's family came to California when he was 7 years old and at that time, Joyce was only 2, so they really didn't know each other.

Doug served in the Pacific during WWII and he would correspond with Joyce on a regular basis. Joyce told a funny story when she was once visiting her aunt and uncle and saw a picture of Doug on the piano. She asked why they had his picture and they simply explained he was their nephew. That caught her a little by surprise.

During the war Doug wrote to his mother that when he got home he was going to marry Joyce. Even though he had plans, Joyce was not so easily convinced. She turned down his proposals on more than one occasion, but he finally wore her down and they were married on February 14th, 1947. They had 57 wonderful, love filled, years together before Doug's passing in 2004.

Joyce and Doug had two children, a daughter, Carla and a son, Keith. Two children could not have been loved more by their parents. No matter what hardships that might have presented themselves their children always came first and they were immensely proud of them. And, when the grandkids, Paul (Alli), Holli, Michael (Kristin), Jeff (Jennifer) and Kevin (Elinor) came along they just beamed. And, then the great grandchildren, Jon, Makana, Rylii, Marcus, Julianna, Jaleigh, Tyler, Lauren, Zoie, and Jaxon just added to Joyce;s pride. Joyce's was loved totally by all her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. In their eyes she could do no wrong.

Joyce was a people person and she could and would talk to anyone and everyone and she was well liked by all who knew her. Her son, Keith would call her every day after Doug's passing just to help her pass the time of day. They would be on the phone for over an hour and when they hung up, Keith's wife, Carolyn would ask what they talked about and Keith would simply say, "I don't know, we just talked".

Once they retired, it was always Doug's dream to build a home in the mountains and so they moved to Pioneer, California where Doug built a 3500 square foot home. He said he wanted a home large enough to hold the whole family when they came to visit, and come they did. The home was in the mountains surrounded by large pines and cypress trees and during the summer, Carla's children would come down from Oregon and spend over a month there. Keith and his family would come up from the San Francisco Bay Area and when they were all there, it would be noisy, the kids would come in from outside all covered in mountain dirt and no one cared. Joyce would clean them up, feed them and get tem ready for bed just so they could do it all over again the next day. Joyce would always say, "Let them play, there is nothing that can' be cleaned up or replaced" and each of the grandchildren, once they had children of their own have said they are sorry their children could not have experienced what they did at that house in Pioneer. It was a house full of love.

In 2002, Doug was diagnosed with cancer and given two years to live. He knew Joyce could not stay in the house they loved, so they moved to Durham, Oregon so that Joyce would be near their daughter, Carla when he passed way. This made one child, some grandchildren, and great grandchildren very happy, but sad for the ones still in California. Despite the added distance, Joyce always stayed close to all her family. She would visit often and when she wasn't in California she was on the phone or computer with them and they all knew how much she loved them. Distance was never an issue as her love of her family was universal.

One of Joyce's passions was reading. She loved to read and would read two or three books a week and she was a great cook. Two people, ten people, 20 people, it didn't matter no one left her house hungry. And, that included those who just dropped by to say hello. Those that did, were always welcome.

Joyce loved God above all else. Along with her recreational reading, she would read her Bible every day. She attended Bible study and church until she was no longer physically able to do so, but she continued her Bible reading faithfully. She was not a television watcher with the exception of Jeopardy. She loved to learn and Jeopardy taught a lot of varied information on a variety of topics. She also loved crossword puzzles and could even complete the New York Times Crossword puzzles.

We all live our lives with the hope of being accepted into Heaven. That is the ultimate goal. Because of this, we cannot be sad for Joyce, but rather we should be elated for her. She will be reunited with her love, Doug, and all to who have gone before her. She will no longer be sick or weak or in pain. She will walk the streets of Heaven forever. Those of us left behind will be sad because she is gone, but will rejoice in the knowledge that one day we will all be together again and she will be there to greet us.