Skip to content

Joyce Flanagan passed away on December 3, 2010, at York Central Hospital in Richmond Hill, Ontario, at the age of 88. Joyce was born on November 19, 1922, in Chilliwack, B.C. She took nurse’s training at Kamloops and New Westminster, B.C. Joyce was married to Francis Herbert Grainger in September 1942. He was killed in an R.A.F. accident in Ireland in October 1943. She was married to Francis Joseph (Frank) Flanagan in 1945. They lived in Vancouver, Montreal, Moncton, and settled in Quebec City for 15 years, where they raised their daughter, Jane. They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary before Frank’s death in 1996.

Joyce and Frank moved to Grand Forks in 1969. They purchased the Mono/Strawberry mineral claim property just past Hummingbird Hill on Brown Creek Road in 1970. The property had a log cabin on it that had once been the Rock Candy mine office. Joyce secured the shell of an old log house that was on the Ray Dinsmore property further up the North Fork, and had it moved so that the two structures were joined together to create a lovely log home. Frank and Joyce enjoyed their North Fork home until 1996, when Joyce moved into the town of Grand Forks. Ten years later, she moved to Southern Ontario to be closer to her daughter and her family.

Joyce was always interested in young people’s activities, especially Guiding and teaching. She began teaching in Quebec in 1963, and then taught at Grand Forks Secondary School until her retirement in the 1980s. She worked very hard to find employment for her special education students, and was determined that all her students learn proper English grammar. Joyce was a member of the North Fork Community Club, and was actively involved in the Grand Forks Art Council, the Grand Forks Art Gallery, the B.C. Honey Producers’ Association, and Broadacres. She was a founding member of the Boundary Area Retired Teachers’ Association. Joyce was an avid gardener and maintained a beautiful yard. She enjoyed her bees, ducks, geese, and pets. Joyce was a talented artisan, creating beautiful quilted works of art, pine needle baskets, drawings and paintings.

Joyce is survived by her daughter, Jane (Ron) Heslegrave; and three grandchildren: Amanda Timmis, Shaun Heslegrave and Janessa (Yusiel) Diago; two nieces and one nephew, and many longtime friends in Grand Forks, as well as other parts of Canada.

A celebration of Joyce's life will be held at Grand Forks in the spring or summer of 2011, when family members are able to travel. Donations in memory of Joyce may be made to The Grand Forks Art Gallery Endowment Fund, or to the Leprosy Mission. Taylor Funeral Home of New Market, Ontario, was in care of arrangements.



Your condolences will be approved within one business day. You will need a valid Facebook account. Please email us if you have any questions.