Our dear mother, JOYCE BROADBENT CAHOON, of Leavitt, Alberta, peacefully passed from this life on October 7, 2021. Mother has reunited with her beloved husband, Lervae, beautiful daughter Colleen, parents William and Emma Broadbent, brothers Delwyn (Melba), Charles (Viola), Keith and Bill, sisters Eda (Dahl Leavitt), Fay (LaVont Marsden), Shirley (Weldon Silitoe), grandsons Michael Monson and Michael Cahoon, and great-granddaughter Alexandria Cahoon.
Mother is survived by her children: Bruce (Mary), George (Marcia), Pamela (Gary) Monson, Reynolds (Louanna), Grant (Marie), Mark (Marilee), Kathy (Dean) Russell, Karen (Kelly) Wood, Merlene (Loren) Betteridge, and Orlan (Hillary). Her sisters Lorna Hatch and Thora (Allen Zemp), sister-in-law Doreen Broadbent, 54 grandchildren, and 158 great-grandchildren also survive her.
Mom was born on September 23, 1923. She lived a happy childhood, wandering the beautiful, rolling hills of Leavitt, nestled near the Canadian Rockies. She enjoyed listening to her mother sing and tell bedtime stories and remembered placing hot rocks in her bed at night to keep warm. She also remembered going to bed early, so that her mother could wash her only dress, which was made of flour sacks. Mother attended school in Leavitt until her grade 12 year. She was very athletic and often won the ball throw competitions. When she wasn’t pitching softballs, she was playing basketball. Her basketball team were the “Champs,” winning the prized cup!
She and Daddy were sweethearts from a very young age. They became engaged while Daddy was training in the Royal Canadian Air Force. He wrote letters on large maps and dropped them from his airplane. After Daddy received his wings and commission as a pilot officer, they lived in PEI for one year, and then in Tofino, B.C. When the war ended, they travelled back to the Leavitt Valley, calling it home for the rest of their lives.
Mom was a hard worker and always had projects on the go. For years, she was a cook at the Cardston Hospital. A very good one, we might add! Cooking for her large family had prepared her well for that job.
Mom loved music. She and Daddy sang duets together on many occasions. You might remember some of them: Beyond the Sunset, Whispering Hope, Edelweiss, and Happy Trails to You! Mother loved recording her children and grandchildren when they came to visit. Almost every family dinner turned into a program, lasting a couple of hours. We have hundreds of cassette tapes to remember these wonderful afternoons.
Mother had many hobbies. She enjoyed beachcombing and gathering seashells, collecting and pressing leaves and flowers from all over the world into a binder, taking innumerable pictures, and collecting quotes.
Mother loved the Gospel of Jesus Christ and served her Heavenly Father in many capacities, starting in her teens as a Primary teacher and Sunday School chorister. She served in the Cardston, Alberta Temple with Daddy for many years. They served three missions: Lagos, Nigeria; Nairobi, Kenya ( their mission was later changed to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where their mandate was to open the country for missionary work and to secure the registration of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints); and a Family History Mission in the Book Bindery Department in SLC. She loved her Saviour and had unwavering faith in His healing power and in His infinite gift of the Atonement.
Mother loved her family. She worked hard every day to create an atmosphere that nourished our bodies and our spirits. Grandchildren have many fond memories of Christmas fish ponds, making gingerbread houses, the huge apple juicing project, corn day, offering to pay them for memorizing scriptures or learning hymns on the piano, hearing her whistle as she worked, and making endless tapes of their singing and poems. Mother built a legacy of love through her never-ending gifts of love and service to us. We will miss her light and influence every day. However, we are comforted to know that she is still with us through our many, loving memories.
Friends and family may meet the family on Wednesday, October 13th, from 7:00 to 8:00 pm at Legacy Funeral Home, Cardston. A Private Family Service will be held on Thursday, October 14th, 2021. Interment will take place in the Leavitt Cemetery.