Joyce Dawn-Marie Higley's Obituary
JOYCE DAWN-MARIE HIGLEY
Birth Date: July 13, 1931
Called home to our Lord Jesus January 28, 2017
Joyce (Née: Abel) was born to Angeline (Née: Bloczynski) and Leon Abel on July 13, 1931 in Rothschild Wisconsin. Joyce was the fifth of six children. Joyce grew up during the Great Depression and like most people in her generation she learned how to save money by planting gardens, canning food, buying day old bread, saving tinfoil, cardboard, grocery bags, containers etc. to be reused, recycled and repurposed. Not able to have consistent medical or dental care growing up, Joyce's first purchase after joining the work force as a secretary at Wausau Insurance Company, was to see a dentist, ending up with her first set of dentures.
Joyce met the love of her life Robert (Bob) Higley through her brother, Richard who was in the Air Force. Richard asked her if she would write letters to some of the Airmen and introduced her to Bob. As the story goes, Joyce and Bob got to know each other through the letters they wrote each other. Joyce said she actually broke up with him at one point to date other men, but after her first date with someone else, she knew there was something special about Bob and that he was the one man who could fulfill her dreams.
Joyce and Bob married on January 3, 1953, while Bob was on leave from the Air Force. Special permission to waive the wedding banns had to be given for the wedding to take place so quickly, in order to be married in St. Theresa Catholic Church in Rothschild, Wisconsin. Bob and Joyce were sent to McChord Air Base in Tacoma, Washington right after the wedding. Joyce became a mother while living in Tacoma, giving birth to a daughter, Susan. After Bob's time in the Air Force came to an end in 1954, they made their home in Schofield Wisconsin and later Neenah, Wisconsin. Joyce bore four more children: Debra; Dennis; Margaret while living in Schofield; and Mark in Neenah.
In 1965, Joyce and Bob made a decision to move their family back to the Pacific Northwest area. Bob resigned from his job at the Neenah paper mill and packed up their family and moved to Washington State, first to live with Joyce's sister Leone while Bob looked for another job and a home for the family. Within six weeks Bob found a job in Oregon City, Oregon at Crown Zellerback Paper Company and rented a home in Jennings Lodge while their permanent home was being built. By the time school started in the fall the family was settled into their new home in Oregon City. Joyce and Bob raised their children in the Catholic faith, instilling tradition and values precious to them. Joyce busied herself in raising her family, volunteering at her church and was a very efficient and practical homemaker. Joyce loved vegetable and floral gardening, was a fantastic cook and especially loved people. Joyce had a green thumb when it came to growing flowers but especially Christmas Cacti. Her specialty was pie making and baking, and often her family and friends were treated to her famous pecan cinnamon rolls and various desserts. Joyce canned tomatoes, made pickles, sauerkraut, vegetables, meat, jams, jellies: you name it, she knew how to preserve it to feed her large family. Joyce raised five amazing children to adulthood. As the children grew older, Joyce started working part-time for St John the Apostle Religious Education Program as a secretary, yet still made sure she was actively involved in her children's public school education by being a room mother, sewing costumes for plays and all around help at their elementary school for the concerts and programs her kids were involved in. Joyce also enjoyed camping, being on a bowling team, reading, playing bingo twice a week, and card playing with her friends. In 1976, Joyce became a grandmother for the first time. Joyce's legacy includes a total of 17 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren.
After her husband died in 1989, Joyce turned to more volunteer work in her church and community. Joyce was the epitome of someone who was the hands and feet of Jesus to this world. She was the first to volunteer if someone was in need, or if something had to be organized, cleaned, or a committee served on. For over 50 years, Joyce gave her time and talents to her church home and her community.
In her community, Joyce volunteered weekly at Oregon City's Senior Center, the Red Cross Blood Drives, County elections, The Historical Society, The Oregon Trail Interpretive Center, Meals on Wheels, The American Cancer Society, was an officer for her bowling league, a comptroller for her Bingo groups, and often could be found adopting an older woman to drive to the grocery store, or help with light housekeeping tasks, or drive them to bingo.
At her church home, St. John the Apostle, Joyce started a widows group so that women who had lost their husbands could get together socially, share stories, food, fun and activities. Joyce was deeply involved on behalf of the Body of Christ at St. John's. Joyce was chairperson of the Altar Society, a member of Catholic Daughters, a Catechism teacher, headed up weekly church cleaning, was a member of Church Women United, assisted in preparing weekly bulletins, the reception coordinator, a Eucharistic Minister, and an active member of the church choir. You could say that Joyce was the "go-to" person for her parish.
Joyce is with her husband in heaven now and all is as it should be. She was full of spunk, independent, funny and joyful right up to her very last breath. She poured out every single gift the Lord gave her onto her family, friends and her community. She was a very special lady, and her legacy of a tender, serving, loving heart will live on for generations to come. She will be greatly missed.
One thing we know for certain is that the first words she heard from Jesus as she entered the gates of Paradise were:
"Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of
your Master"
JOYCE DAWN-MARIE HIGLEY
Birth Date: July 13, 1931
Called home to our Lord Jesus January 28, 2017
Joyce is survived by her children: Susan Jordan (Roger); Debra Reaksecker; Dennis Higley (Christine); Margaret Downs (Jeffery); and Mark Higley (Christine); 17 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren.
A Celebration of her life is scheduled for Saturday February 4, 2017 at St. John the Apostle Church, 417 Washington Street in Oregon City with a Rosary at 10:30; followed by a funeral mass at 11:00. A reception will follow the Mass and the Committal service will take place at 2:00PM at St. John the Apostle Catholic Cemetery.
Donations may be made in her honor to St. John the Apostle Church in Oregon City; The American Cancer Society for Pancreatic Cancer Research; and the Providence Hospice Group.
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