Joyce, the eldest child of Charles and Lillian Eisert, was born on July 11, 1928 in Coronation, Alberta. She resided in Brownfield all her life.

After Joy turned 13 she stopped going to school, but completed her schooling by correspondence. She worked with her father on the family farm/cattle operation.

In September 1957 she and Bill Graydon were married and they enjoyed the blessing of one daughter, Charalee.

From 1966 through 1976 Bill and Joy operated the Coronation Auction Market, with Joy taking the "up front" role.

Joy loved the land, the trees, and the animals. One of their quarters was set aside for the preservation of prairie grass and wildlife, and only the most foolish hunter would dare go near her land.

In 1994 Joy's naturalist work was recognized by the people of Alberta with an environmental protection award presented by the Minister of the Environment.

Joy not only worked hard outside, but also did her share inside, fulfilling her role as wife and mother.

Joy was predeceased by her parents, Charles and Lillian Eisert; brother, Melbourne Woody; niece, Rudelle Hall; brother-in-law, Nicholas Rosta; and brother-in-law, Harry Cooper.

Left to mourn are her husband, Bill; daughter, Charalee, her sisters: Helen, Joan and her daughter Lauren; and Gene; brother, Luther Woody and his wife, Edna; and sister, Frances Cooper; as well as other nieces, nephews, friends, and neighbours.

In recognition of her love of the outdoors, following the funeral service, Joy's ashes will be laid to rest under a designated tree in Bill and Joy's yard.

Tribute
by Glen Adair

I am very honoured to have been asked to give the tribute to Joy today. I have only gotten to know Joy for the past few years, helping out where I could.

I knew Joy and Bill from school years and 4-H club, but only recently did I get to know them personally. Joy was a lady who strove for results starting at the age of 13 working by her father's side.

Her father passed away at an early age so Joy had to assume full responsibility for all the farming decisions from that time on.

Joy challenged her self to achieve all her goals, even if it meant Bill had to crawl atop ol' Crown, Joys work horse while cultivating the garden. Low and behold after a short time of cultivating Bill became a bit weary and fell asleep. "Wake up Bill", Joy called "Get back on the row".

Joy would always have time to put the coffee pot on, and hustle to put a meal in front of you, before you even had time to sit down. Joy enjoyed cooking. I think she got great satisfaction out of seeing how full she could get you and then set out a huge piece of piping hot apple pie, knowing full well, you couldn't refuse it. Joy had a knack for making great tasting pie. She said it was the apples from her Daddies apple tree that made it taste so good.

Well possibly, but the saskatoon, raspberry, or peach, tasted equally as good to Bill and I, I'm certain.

Joy was especially proud of their daughter, Charalee' accomplishments - all the way from grade school through graduating with honours from law school, and also the award of the Rhodes Scholarship and graduation from Oxford, keeping close contact through letters and phone calls no matter how far away from each other they were.

Joy and Bill held many sales at the coronation Auction Market which they built and operated for a number of years.

Joy encouraged and accompanied Bill to some of his Naval reunions in various locations across Canada.

Joy's love for wildlife was extraordinary, whether it be the full grown hawk that had been hit by a vehicle along the road, or the family of skunks that came to her door to be fed one summer.

Another example could b the cats that someone dropped off at their gate, along with one that was in the family way.

So that was quite a package deal for Joy but she didn't mind, she would never turn any animal away.

Her love for her cattle was equally as strong. You could find Joy sorting cows and calves for different pastures - calling each cow by name - easing them through her sorting pens and on to the trailer to head for fresh pasture.

The fall roundup was hard for Joy, knowing that some of her babies (as she called them) would have to go off to market to be sold.

Joy was also very proud when a neighbour asked if they could use one of her calves for a 4-H class and it won top honours over all.

So it is not surprising that the same people came back again this year to pick another 4-H calf from a cow from Joy's herd that she called her funny cows.

The actual name for these cattle is Speckled Park, a fast growing beef breed that is very popular for its high carcass quality.

I would like to tell a little story that I think is appropriate for the occasion.

Joy and Bill had some very good friends they thought a lot of. Their names were Joe and Leonie and they now reside in Ontario. Joe and Joy had done a lot of carpenter work on Joy and Bill's house.

Joy and Leonie spent a lot of time cooking and canning and became very close. It was known fact that Joe had an art of giving nicknames to people around the community.

Well before Joe and leonie left, Joy had to find out if there were nicknames were her and Bill.

Of course there were but Joe and Leonie were afraid of offending them so they didn't know if they should divulge their secret names of not. Myself, I don't think there could be better choices made.

For Bill they gave his Father Time and for Joy, Mother Earth, both names that could be worn with honour.

In closing I would like to add that my only regret I have in coming to know Joy is I wish I could have known her sooner.

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