Joyce Jessie Elizabeth was welcomed into the world by parents Grant and Florence (MacDonald) Cavill on August 26, 1953. Joyce joined older siblings Jim, Jack, Janet, and Joe followed Joyce to make the family complete. The Cavill family lived on a mixed farm on the 4th of Elderslie with cows, pigs and chickens. As kids, they all had to help with the chores on the farm, clean the eggs, and feed the calves. She also helped unload the straw bales off the wagon into the mow. Joyce and her siblings attended the S.S #12 one-room schoolhouse on the 2nd of Elderslie and then went on to attend Chesley High School. Joyce would often bring her mother to tears of laughter after complaining that she never had a Lunch Box when growing up. Ask her sister Jan about this story…

When she was in high school, Joyce would sometimes sneak into her Mom’s bedroom and magically a few cigarettes would jump into Joyce’s pocket from the nightstand drawer. When her brother Jack started dating his wife to be Ellen, sometimes Joyce would have too many  “wobbly pops” and lock the door on Jack and Ellen, so they had to climb in off the roof or sleep in the car

While in high school, when she was sixteen, Joyce met a young man who was two years older by the name of Dale Harold McDonald. The two hit it off and began dating. Dale had an old car they called the “pimp mobile” that had a Hollywood muffler. Dale would often try to sneak in the Cavill’s driveway to pick up Joyce, however, it was hard to do that when the car was so loud and would often make the dogs bark when he would come in! When Joyce finished high school, she followed her friend Cheryl Fleet “Fuzz” to London and started looking for a job. She walked into the doors of Dominion Life and walked out with a job. She began living with Cheryl and a few other friends, and then Dale moved to London as well and started working at a grocery store. The two lived in an apartment behind the grocery store. Joyce never told her mother that she was living with Dale, so when Joyce’s mother wanted to come to London to visit her and see where she lived, Joyce decided instead of telling her mom she lived with Dale, they would get married! The two were married at St. John’s United Church in Chesley, on August 25, 1973, the day before her 20th birthday. Believe it or not, they had a dry reception, at least inside the hall! Joyce’s brother Jack and his wife Ellen always gave Joyce a hard time on how she and Dale screwed up their honeymoon, as Jack and Ellen were married the week before Joyce and Dale, and couldn’t go very far for their honeymoon as they had to get back to get the thrashing done before Joyce and Dale’s wedding.

As newlyweds, Joyce and Dale stayed in London, and here they welcomed their son Michael in May of 1975. With a young child, they made the move to Hanover for Dale’s job, then moved to Goderich so Dale could work at Zehrs. While in Goderich, they welcomed their daughter Kerri in May of 1978 to make the family complete.  They were there for 3 years before moving back to Hanover, when they bought the Zehrs and it became “McDonald’s Valu-Mart”, owning this for a few years. With both of their children being born in May, they thoroughly enjoyed their anniversary and birthdays! A funny story is told about when Michael was young and Joyce and Cheryl were in the car and Michael was misbehaving in the backseat. Joyce had enough, so she slammed on the brakes and told him to “get out of the car”, and she let him sit on the sidewalk as she drove around the block. She picked him back up and told him he better behave.

Joyce instilled her love of humour and pranks in her kids at a young age as they would call Aunt Jan and Uncle Don, who lived in Vancouver, to wish them a Merry Christmas at 8 am EST or 5 am PST!

As a family, they bought a tent trailer and went camping many weekends together. Joyce supported her kids when they were in sports. Michael played baseball and hockey, and she was always there cheering him on. Kerri figure skated, and Joyce enjoyed watching the recitals and the competitions every year.

Joyce stayed home with the kids until Kerri was three, and she began working in the office at the People’s Department Store in Hanover. Joyce then joined Dale as they purchased the ValuMart in Hanover. After they sold the business, Joyce began working in the office at Ron Blom’s car dealership in Hanover and then moved to Morrow’s Car Dealership in Walkerton and Chesley.

In 2007 Dale passed away, leaving a hole in their family. Joyce had a hard time adjusting to life without Dale. She chose to keep herself busy by becoming one of the “Lunch Ladies” at Sacred Heart High School in Walkerton until 2020. Joyce loved this job. She made an incredible bond with a number of students. She was so proud when they would spend time with her in the kitchen doing tasks such as counting change and helping out with odd jobs.

In 2012, Joyce reconnected with former classmate Robert “Bob” Barfoot at their 40th High School Reunion in Chesley, thanks to Doug Legge & John Alpaugh. They began dating a few weeks later and as Joyce put it… he never left! Lol! Eventually, Bob moved in with Joyce and they enjoyed nine years together until Bob passed away in 2021. They loved, cared for, and supported one another in the good times and in the bad, creating many memories for themselves, their families, and friends.

Joyce was a prankster. If you got her, she would put so much thought into how she was going to get you back. Her brother Joe would often buy packages of lighters and when Joyce was over she would manage to leave with every one of his lighters in her purse. Joyce would also take matches from everyone and had a goblet cup FULL of matches that she had taken from people throughout the years.

A lot of Joyce’s friends quickly learned the lesson that it was important to lock their doors when they would leave, or they would come home to a bathtub of Jell-O with confetti in it! She would also tie tampons on the ceiling fan, and there would be “caesars on a stick”. Ask Fuzz about this one!

Joyce was an amazing cook. She could cook or bake just about anything, and she enjoyed canning as well. Joyce was a very vocal eater. There were always a lot of sound effects, and she would be sure to let you know how much she enjoyed it. Especially if she was enjoying a “Samrich”.

Joyce enjoyed playing cards, such as Euchre, president, spoons and Aggravation. As you likely know, she was very competitive and would stop at nothing to win. She loved listening to Johnny Reid and classic rock. Joyce liked watching shows such as the Ed Sullivan Show, Don Messer, Walt Disney, Dynasty, Yellowstone, Dallas, Falcon Crest, and at 6 pm the local news.

Joyce could do a Lily Tomlin telephone operator impression better than anyone. She could even get the snort perfect every time. Joyce always had her house spotless! In recent years, Kerri introduced Joyce to diamond art. Soon after, every gift her family received from Joyce was diamond art.

Joyce knew how to have a good time and bring joy and humour to every situation. She had an incredible sense of humour. Even in the most serious moments, Joyce had a wit about her that could make everyone laugh. She loved to dress up, especially as Dolly Parton. Joyce had a few nicknames throughout her life, such as “Gert”, “Jess”, and “Schnaz”. If you liked it or not, Joyce was very honest.

Joyce was amazing at finding her gifts. Every Christmas or birthday she would sneak around looking for her gift, and then would open it, and rewrap the present often blaming the cat or the dog for ripping the wrapping paper so naturally, she had to re-wrap it. As time went on, her family caught on to this, so Dale would often wrap soda bottles or bricks, to throw her off. This is a trait that she passed on to her granddaughter Jordan. Joyce loved her three grandchildren with her whole heart. As the kids got older, she really enjoyed doing activities with them such as baking with Avery, watching Jordan’s soccer games, and loved watching Sullivan grow up and play in the water.

In the last month, Joyce experienced a decline in her health, and she passed away peacefully surrounded by her family, at South Bruce Grey Health Centre, Chesley, on Monday, August 19, 2024, at the age of 70.

Loving mother of Michael (Tricia) McDonald of Airdrie, Alberta, and Kerri Wells (Ben Chard) of Walkerton. Cherished grandmother of Sullivan McDonald, and Jordan and Avery Wells. Dear sister of Jack (Ellen) Cavill of Chesley and Janet (Don) Gransden of Owen Sound, and sister-in-law of Bonnie Cavill of Chesley. Joyce will be missed by many nieces, nephews, and longtime friends. She was predeceased by her husband Dale McDonald, her partner Bob Barfoot, her brothers Jim and Joe Cavill, and her parents Grant Cavill and Florence (MacDonald) Long.

A memorial graveside service will be held at Walkerton Cemetery on Friday, August 30, 2024, at 2 p.m. A celebration of life will follow at 201-310 Durham Street West, Walkerton, immediately following the service.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations to the Chesley Hospital Foundation would be appreciated as expressions of sympathy.