— from Marian O’Brien, San Juan County Health & Community Services —
Joyce E. Rupp, San Juan County Community Services Manager, passed away on Saturday, October 4, 2014.
A Missouri native, she and her husband Bill began farming and raising a family on Orcas over thirty years ago. Joyce began her career with the County on May 1, 1985, and was a tireless advocate for the elderly and their families first on Orcas, then on all the islands.
She facilitated the vision and construction of three Senior Centers and a myriad of programs to support independent living for seniors, including meals, transportation, activities and respite care.
Joyce leaves an amazing legacy of vision, service, compassion and optimism.
There will be a service at the Jehovah Witness Kingdom Hall, this Saturday, October 11 at 1:30pm and a reception will immediately follow at the Orcas Island Senior Center at 2pm. The public is invited and encouraged to attend. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Orcas Island Senior Center Joyce Rupp Memorial Fund, PO Box 18, Eastsound, WA 98245.
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Go in God’s love, Joyce, and the love of the hundreds, perhaps thousands of seniors you helped over the years with your caring, your humor, and your intelligence.
It’s just not the same without you Joyce, but I know you are watching on. The depth of our loss is only surpassed by the number of lives you touched. Thank you for sharing this time of life with me and thank you for the memories you left me with. I will miss your calm spirit, your sense of humor, swapping social work stories with you, and most of all your friendship. I am lucky and honored to have known you.
Here’s my all-time favorite memory of Joyce – and it’s the last time I saw her: She was doing figure 8’s in the deserted lobby of the Senior Center while we visited about “old times!”