August 21, 1914 – February 12, 2009
After 94 years of a life well-lived, Joanie slipped away quietly at Arrowsmith Lodge in Parksville. She was predeceased by her devoted husband Alan in 1987 and is survived by her loving daughter Georgia.
Born in Vancouver and educated at St. Ann’s Academy in New Westminster, Joanie and her husband Alan and young daughter Georgia moved to Campbell River in 1948 to take over the well-known Painter’s Lodge & Fishing Resort. For the next 14 years Joanie was “the hostess with the mostest’, welcoming guests from all over the world, including many Hollywood celebrities.
When Alan retired from the tourism industry, Joanie and he divided their time between winters in Palm Desert and summers on Vancouver Island, until they settled permanently in Bowser in 1976. Joanie’s passions over the years were travel, her garden, bridge, reading, and enjoying the company of her many friends and much-loved family pets. She was a lady of great charm and grace who won hearts wherever she went. The last chapter in her long and eventful life was spent at Arrowsmith Lodge where she received loving and compassionate care from their dedicated staff.
I’d like the memory of me
to be a happy one.
I’d like to leave an afterglow
of smiles when day is done.
I’d like to leave an echo
whispering softly down the ways,
of happy times and laughing times
and bright and sunny days.
I’d like the tears of those who grieve
to dry before the sun.
Of happy memories I leave
behind - when day is done.