By the window of her suite in The Hawthorn at Elim Village Garrison Crossing, Joyce Sawatzky sits at her sewing machine. She pins lace trim on the undergarment she holds, then stitches it in place. In nearly 20 years as a volunteer with the charity Helping Hands in Abbotsford, Joyce has sewn almost 100,000 pairs of children’s undergarments that have been distributed in orphanages and transition houses both locally and around the world.
“It’s a joy, and I love doing it. It keeps me busy,” she says over the whir of the sewing machine. Busy indeed: on average, Joyce completes about 100 undergarments per week. This year, some of the pieces she’s sewn have also been included in Christmas boxes for Samaritan’s Purse.
As a child growing up on the prairies, Joyce has fond memories of Christmastime, from helping her mother bake a big batch of traditional Christmas cake (“It was always made ahead and wrapped in brown paper,” she recalls) to visiting her grandparents’ home with her extended family. “Grandma and Grandpa would ask us kids to say a poem or song or verse that we learned in Sunday School,” says Joyce. “Now, I do something similar with my own grandchildren.”
Beyond sewing, Joyce enjoys reading, something she’s done since she was a child. “There is no place I didn’t have a book with me,” she laughs. “My dad would ask, ‘Joyce, when are you going to read that big book?’ And I’d say, ‘Tomorrow.’” She still enjoys reading.
After Joyce and her husband Rudy married in 1954, they settled in Abbotsford where Rudy was in the automobile business. “We couldn’t go anywhere without someone coming up to Rudy and wanting to talk cars,” she chuckles. Together, the couple had four children, nine grandchildren, 13 great grandchildren, and three great-great grandchildren. At 90 years young, Joyce is the proud matriarch of five generations.
When considering retirement living, Joyce and Rudy visited Elim Village Garrison Crossing but settled on a place in Abbotsford. After Rudy’s passing 18 months ago, Joyce began to feel lonely. She told her kids she might like to have a change.
That’s when her family reminded her about Elim and suggested she take another look. Two days later, she got a call about an opening, and on Oct. 3, she moved in. “Even though it was a quick decision I’ve been so happy I did it. I love living here,” Joyce says. “The Lord has blessed me in so many ways. I can’t be thankful enough.”