Betty-Joyce Doreen Pashuk

We say goodbye to Betty Joyce Doreen Pashuk nee Carl, although she much preferred to be known simply as Jo. She died peacefully at her home in the retirement community in Hamilton, Ontario. Jo would have celebrated her 95th birthday at the end of November.

Jo was predeceased by her husband Vic in 2018, and is survived by her children Lauren, Kevin (Leslie), and Keri (Greg), her grandchildren Amber (Jon), Joey (Andrew), and Stephen, and great grandchildren Abby, and Caleb (who were really her favourites).

She was surrounded by friends and family and with her passing, she ended an era. She was the last surviving of the 9 siblings raised in Saskatchewan and stayed connected with many of her nieces and nephews through her always present iPad.

She was born in North Battleford and raised in Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan. She then followed the call of seeing new worlds after graduating, worked as a dental technician at a sanitorium and ended up meeting a fine young RCMP officer in the bus depot in Kamloops, BC. This shifted both their worlds for many years.

They got married and Vic had to leave the RCMP, since in those days a recruit had to have five years of service to be allowed to marry, and he couldn’t wait.

That led them on a journey to Edmonton, then to Meadow Lake where they ran a soft ice cream shop called the Big Dipper that mysteriously burned down, then to my father joining the OPP and moving to Ontario in 1954.

Their Northern Ontario life was full of good memories, they had us kids, Vic built at least two cabins on the lake, and they took full advantage of the community and nature activities. They lived in a remote detachment in Sioux Narrows, in Dryden, in Red Lake, and Ignace.

In 1975, Vic was transferred to Bracebridge, Ontario. They bought their first ever home that was theirs and spent several years pouring love into the house and yard. During this time, Jo landed a job with the Ministry of Natural Resources in Huntsville and worked with the wildlife biologists. Her favourite memory of this time is working at the annual moose check station, taking samples from the moose, getting her hands right into the mess… there was nothing squeamish there.

After helping a genealogist on a project, she developed a keen interest in preserving the family stories and photographs of her family and generally could identify most of the people in all the old photos, neatly stored and sorted.

She loved her time as a snowbird when Vic retired, escaping the winter weather to spend time with good friends in Sarasota, Florida.

It was always thought that she would live forever. At age 75 she had a series of major heart attacks that left her with a weak leg, which didn’t slow her down much. Ten years later she had a stroke that necessitated her leaving her home, because of some extra care, but she fully regained her cognitive ability right up to the end.

Those who knew her would tell you that she knew what she wanted and could be firm in her convictions about them (another word for stubborn). If she liked something, she really liked it, if she didn’t, everyone knew it.

She had declared that she would die at home in her chair. She got her wish.

Goodbye Jo, and as you requested we will remember the happy times and remind each other that you loved us all.