Connal; Louisa Joyce (nee: Leys)
February 25, 1927 to March 3, 2015
A small earthquake rocked the village of Rosedale, BC on Tuesday, March 3. The rock upon which the Connal family was founded crumbled, leaving behind to mourn her passing and cherish her life, her eight adult children, 22 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren. Joyce Connal, widow of Dan and mother to Danny (Sara); Garth (Debbie); Gordon (Lynda); Mona; Christine (Gord); Harold (Anita); Andrea (Al); and Sandra (Lincoln) was a strong, determined woman, kind of heart and generous of spirit, loyal to family and friends, and accepting of all. Born to Douglas and Margaret Leys in 1927, Joyce never knew her father. Douglas Leys had tragically died 3 months before her birth. When Joyce was just 15, her mother Margaret Leys passed away, and Joyce and her older brother Doug were taken in by her mother's family the Houghtons in Vancouver. In 1947 Joyce married Dan Connal and was whisked away from her city life in Vancouver to McKay's Sawmill at Jones Hill, a rough and ready little community between Rosedale and Hope where she would begin a life centered on her family. In 1954 the Connals moved to a tiny house at 52012 Yale Road, Rosedale. As all 8 of her own children grew and moved out and started their own families, Joyce became the first unpaid day care in Rosedale, caring for her many grandchildren and giving them basic training in cooking, gardening, crossword puzzles, game shows and all versions of the TV hit Coronation Street. She was a fixture in the Rosedale social scene attending every local sports event that her talented children and grandchildren took part in ~ the Connal name was well-represented at all local school sports days, with baseball, soccer and horse events producing numerous stars. Her personal social life for many years included Sunday attendance at the Pentecostal Rosedale Church with her many Rosedale friends. The core of Joyce's life was her family and Rosedale. Her view of the world may have been limited to the little village she loved, but her life revolved around her family, right to the end. Year after year she was a constant in everyone's life, putting on Christmas, New Year's, Easter and Thanksgiving dinners for a family that finally grew to over 40 - and with friends and strangers alike always welcome, it was standing room only at her little house on Yale Road on those annual occasions. Her door was always open - just like her heart - and for that she will be forever missed.
Service at Henderson's Funeral Home Chilliwack on Saturday March 7 at 1:00 pm with a tea to follow. The Connal family extends their deepest gratitude to Dr. MacIntosh and all the wonderful staff at Glenwood Care Centre, Agassiz BC for their dedicated care and kindness.