Joyce Margaret Raphael

JOYCE MARGARET RAPHAEL April 29, 1920 ~ March 23, 2011 Joyce Margaret Raphael went to be with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, while staying at the Ray Hickey Hospice House in Vancouver, WA. She was nearly 91, or as she would have put it, "Just shy of the 62nd anniversary of my 29th birthday." It's not a coincidence that Elizabeth Taylor died the same day, both were superstars in their own ways. Joyce was born in Niawa, MN where she lived on a farm and was raised by her grandmother, Electa Ann Dudley. At age seven she was reunited with her mother, Alberta (Dudley) Hooks, and helped raise three sisters during the Great Depression. She attended grades 1-8 in (literally) a one-room schoolhouse in Lake George, MN and worked during high school as a maid and dishwasher in a Park Rapids, MN hotel. Following high school she worked bussing tables, as a dishwasher, cashier and waitress at various restaurants and then as an office worker for various firms. In the early 1940s she moved to Spokane, WA and installed instruments in B-17, B-25 and B-29 bombers at Farragut Naval Station in nearby Athol, Idaho. After WW II, Joyce bought, sold and operated a small grocery store and three restaurants. The last one, the Coffee Pot Cafï¿½, located in Spokane, WA, is where she met Joe who became the love of her life. In 1950 they married in Cour de Lane, ID to get around the 3-day Washington waiting period. In 1951, they moved to California where Joe got a job at UCLA. The following year Danny, Joyce's only son, was born. From 1955-1965 she worked at Collins Engineering, an aircraft parts supplier. On weekends she relished taking her son to the beach, swimming lessons, Little League games and accordion lessons. (Really!) To be closer to family, the Raphael's moved to Vancouver in 1965 where Joyce lived ever since. She went back to work in 1967 as a bookkeeper at Country Gas in Hazeldell, then as office managers for Vancouver's Pay-N'Takit Stores and the Vancouver law firm of Boetcher, LaLonde and Klaweno. In 1996 she took on the long awaited role of "Grandma Joyce" when granddaughter Ali was born, followed in 1998 by grandson Nathaniel. She made regular bus trips to North Bend, WA to visit the grandkids of whom she was very, very proud. She was a member of the Shiloh Fellowship Church and over the years developed a deep relationship with Pastor Jerry Thurston and his wife, Mary. Joyce enjoyed planting and working her vegetable garden each year as well as tending to plants and flowers on her property. Joyce is survived by son, Danny; daughter-in-law, Lisa; and grandkids, Alexandra Joyce ("Ali") and Nathaniel Richard of North Bend, WA; niece Vicki Bricker; and nephew, Roger Frye, both of Spokane. She was preceded in death by Joe, her husband of nearly 45 years; sisters, Patricia Combs, Beulah ("Boots") Kadow and Marilyn Boyce; and step-son, Donald ("Larry"). At 3 p.m., Saturday, April 2, there will be a memorial service celebrating Joyce's life followed by a reception at Evergreen Memorial Gardens, 1101 Northeast 112th Avenue in Vancouver. In lieu of flowers, Joyce requested donations be sent in her name to the American Cancer Society or Shiloh Fellowship Church, 10709 Southeast 10th Street, Vancouver, WA, 98664.

Joyce Margaret Raphael

April 29, 1920 - March 23, 2011