Joyce Carolyn was born in the Chesley Hospital on Friday, August 28, 1953 to Harold August and Alvena Christeena (Karn) Kuhl. Harold and Alvena raised their family of six children on the former Albright farm on Concession 10 in Desboro: Doreen Marie, Marjorie Irene, Orval Harold, Allan Julius, Patricia Alvena, and Joyce Carolyn.
When Joyce was about one or so, her Mom Alvena fell off a ladder while white washing the school ceiling and broke both of her wrists. Grandma Karn came to help and said that Joyce really had to go home with her or one of the older siblings (Doreen, Orval or Marjorie) would have to stay home from school. Well, Grandma Karn had Joyce for at least a month and when Joyce returned home she didn’t recognize anyone. What Joyce did recognize was a picture of a bunny on the wall.
Joyce loved her animals. It didn’t matter if they were farm animals or household pets. One particular dog, a St. Bernard by the name of George, was a favourite. Sadly, he was run over on the road in front of their home, coincidently by the neighbourhood vet. Joyce really struggled with this death and Doug, in his kind hearted way, bought Joyce, a married woman by this time, a huge stuffed St. Bernard dog. Can you guess what Joyce’s favourite song was? Yup, you guessed it. How Much is That Doggie in the Window? Joyce also enjoyed her time in 4H Calf Club.
All the children were educated at S.S. #6 just down the concession from their farm. Some very interesting stories are told by her older siblings, about Joyce and her lack of desire to attend public school. Apparently, because Joyce is the youngest of the family and had Mom to herself for quite some time, Joyce refused to go to school. Now, there is some discrepancy in the details, but the bottom line is, the teacher had to put Joyce at a little table and chair next to Pat at the back of the room. (Too cute!) Joyce grew to love school and really enjoyed grades seven and eight. One cute story is told of how Joyce had to spell “SPELLING” one day in school. She knew the word “SPELLER” as it was right in front of her. Soooo, thinking quickly she spelt the word out loud, “SPELLERING”
Being as their father drove the school bus, they attended high school at West Hill Secondary School in Owen Sound. It was while riding on the bus and in high school, that Joyce caught the eye of a much older (hee, hee) young man, Doug Keeling. Following graduation, Joyce worked at Wittaker Cable in Owen Sound. She then went on to cook at Springmount Restaurant and then onto Loucks Garage/Tractor and Trucks Sales in Chatsworth.
Following four years of dating, Joyce and Robert Douglas Keeling were married at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Chesley. It was an evening ceremony on Friday, November 22, 1974 and The Rev. Marvyn L. Dubrick officiated. Their wedding party consisted of Joan Hodgins, Shannon Bell, Pat Burke, Jack (John) Keeling, Barry Keeling and Allan Kuhl. Their reception was held at the Desboro Community Centre.
Four years later, Doug and Joyce were joined by the cutest little baby ever – Carolyn Laurie. Even though it was thought impossible to surpass the cuteness of Carolyn, Robert Douglas joined the family three years later. With her hands already full with child rearing, cubs, baton, home and yard, Joyce took on her own business. For years, at least 10 – 15, Joyce ran her successful small trophy business. In fact, she was known as the “Trophy Lady.” Despite possible thinking to the contrary, Carolyn did not win all of her baton awards simply because her Mom made her trophies!
Of course, like her Mom, Joyce was always looking for some kind of enterprise, seldom wanting to be still. When Carolyn started her own business, Memorable Designs, Joyce jumped right in with her. It all started in Joyce and Doug’s garage and Joyce was very often seen making deliveries in her Buick. The label of ‘Chief Cook and Bottle Washer’ may not have been an appropriate title for Joyce, but as Co-Owner and Mom, Joyce did whatever it took to help Carolyn out. Now of course, this included making all the long, hard deliveries to Hanover. Joyce was always ready to make the sacrifice to take these particular deliveries and always volunteered to go. Now, the fact that Hanover is also the home of Hanover Slots had absolutely nothing to do with Joyce’s willingness to go.
Joyce’s other passions included patch work blankets, Christmas stockings, pillows and crafts. She loved collecting small antiques like washboards, fire extinguishers and mason jars – anything that represented the days of her youth. What Joyce was not passionate about was travelling. She was a home body, although trips up north to visit family were taken.
One such winter trip to go snowmobiling in 1975, (better known as the snowmobile trip from hell) Doug, Joyce, Pat, Don, Orval and Ken were stranded. The temperature dropped quickly and suddenly and the foursome knew they were in for a long and tough night. Don kept encouraging the three to keep on walking. Joyce’s boots were not cold winter survival gear whereas Pat’s were. So for a while, Pat traded boots with Joyce. Then when Pat got really cold they each took one of the better boots and one of the not so good boots. The next day, when rescued, the girls could not figure out why each of them had one frozen foot. What really left an indelible mark on Pat was that Joyce and Doug, not having a family yet and being soul mates, they just lay down together and were willing to take whatever was about to befall them.
Sunday drives were always enjoyed by Joyce, especially when it was in the red and white – that is the 1974 Red and White Roadrunner. And almost every time they went for a Sunday drive it ended up being a great adventure! Any time spent with family was always special, as well, for Joyce. She was exceedingly family orientated. And boy was she a good cook. Like her Mom and sisters, she could cook up a storm with seemingly little effort. Her family heartedly agree that she made the best Sauerkraut and Ribs. However, they also agree that she made really good cabbage rolls, meatloaf, chicken casserole, chili and apple pie. Regrettably, there are no written recipes. It was all in her head and her dishes were a little different in taste each time they were made.
Even though Joyce could be really outgoing, she could also be somewhat reserved. Joyce was very independent, very determined and always had her own point of view. Despite all the snowmobiling they did, Joyce did not like winter. It was too cold. And…she did not like summer – it was too hot. She did like watching Survivor, reading, and Chinese Food. It was always a yearly challenge to find just the right jigsaw puzzle to give Joyce for Christmas. It had to be big (like a 1,000 pieces) yet not too, too hard. Peeking under her beds one could always find a shellacked puzzle. Joyce also enjoyed playing games like Candy Crush and Tetris on her IPad.
Joyce was particularly connected to her sister Marjorie and her sister Pat who was the closest in age. Pat and Joyce would take tap dance lessons together as well as baton. In turn, Marjorie’s daughter Carolyn was very connected with Joyce and they probably spent the most amount of time together when the two families lived together amidst the Kingwell’s many moves. Niece Carolyn would think of any excuse possible to return to Joyce. It almost broke Joyce’s heart when Carolyn’s life was taken. Joyce’s family lovingly remember her as being ever so generous, always giving of her gardens’ products and even making little trophies for her nieces and nephews. Words like sweet, loving, and helpful are also words used by her siblings to describe Joyce. She was always doing her very best to help others. Joyce’s siblings are very proud of how Joyce handled her illness. (What a lovely tribute!)
Lots of really funny stories are told of how Joyce and her sisters had to pick raspberries off their Mom’s one acre raspberry patch and take them into Sauble Beach to sell. Most of the selling took place in the cooler evenings and so their swims (which they loved to take) happened in the dark. One hot summer day Joyce and Pat had just about enough of this gruelling work and they decided to go out on strike until Mom took the crew of pickers to Mooresburg for a swim.
Sundays were always a day off. Church in the morning, stopping at Scone for ice cream. The afternoons in the summer were often spent at Sauble Beach having french fries and playing on trampolines, and in the winter they were spent skating, tobogganing, and visiting relatives. Picking cucumbers and raspberries, gave the Kuhl family extra money so that the children could go down to the CNE in Toronto, amongst other things.
Just last year, January of 2015, Joyce was diagnosed with lung cancer. She met, and faced, this diagnosis on her own independent terms, of course. Sadly, Joyce Carolyn Keeling of R.R. #3 Chatsworth, slipped away surrounded by her loving family at South Bruce Grey Health Centre, Chesley on Friday, September 23, 2016 in her 64th year.
Beloved wife of Doug. Cherished mother of Carolyn Keeling and her husband Shawn Nolan of Chesley and Bob and his wife Colleen of Desboro. Joyce will live on in the hearts and minds of her siblings, Doreen (Ken) White of R.R. #1 Mar, Marjorie Kingwell of Wahnapitae, Pat (Don) Burke of Providence Bay and Allan (Donna) Kuhl of Desboro. She will be fondly remembered by her many nieces, nephews, aunts and uncles and their families. Joyce was predeceased by her brother Orval (Gail), brother-in-law Orval Kingwell, niece Carolyn Carroll and her parents, Harold and Alvena (Karn) Kuhl.
A celebration of Joyce’s life will be held at Rhody Family Funeral Home, Chesley on Wednesday, September 28, 2016 beginning at 5 p.m. This informal, come and go gathering will be followed by a memorial service at 7 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations to the Chesley Hospital Foundation or Canadian Cancer Society would be appreciated as expressions of sympathy.
