Joyce Strickland Healy

Joyce was born in 1927 in Forest Grove, OR to Lee Strickland and Jewell Whitehouse. She spent her childhood in Tillamook, Forest Grove, and later Oregon City OR, where her father was a physician. She attended the University of Oregon, and was a member of the Alpha Phi sorority, where she graduated with a business degree in 1949.

She was married in her parents house in Oregon City in 1949 to James R Healy, a graduate in military sciences from Notre Dame University. Jim was raised in NE Portland. The two met when they both attended the U of O.

They lived their early years together in a house on Siskiyou St in NE Portland. Joyce maintained a career at Meir and Frank for several years before deciding to have children. Their first child Lynda Healy was born in 1952, Robert Healy in 1954, and Laura Healy in 1957. In 1962 they moved to Seattle, settling into the Newport Hills area of Bellevue.

Joyce loved the beach and the family went frequently to Ocean Shores and enjoyed beach combing, dune buggies and roasting hot dogs over a fire. She also enjoyed swimming at the Newport Hills swim club, and later the Samena swim club. Joyce was a lover of dogs, we had several as a family.

As her children grew up she returned to school, and got a degree in Computer Science from Bellevue College. She learned Cobol and Fortran and succeeded in a second career as a computer programmer. One of her most memorable and challenging jobs was her part in setting up the Puyallup Fair with their first computer system.

She enjoyed ballroom dancing and taking cruises with her husband Jim. They travelled just about everywhere one could and became Gold Members on several Cruise Lines. Jim passed away too early at the age of 72, in 1998. Joyce had to learn to cruise forward on her own. She still loved traveling and took many trips with friends and family.

In 2012 Joyce moved into the Emerald Heights community in Redmond, she made new friends and had many adventures living there. She was loved by her community of caregivers there, who often mentioned her amazing and dry sense of humor up until her last days.

Joyce is survived by her son and daughter, Robert Healy and Laura Healy, and their spouses Shawna Healy, and Bruce Friedman. Her grandchildren Spencer Healy, Sierra Healy, and Vincent Engelstad. Her step grandchildren, Mattie Haller and Michael Friedman and her great granddaughter Faye Joyce Haller.