Dr. Joy B. Plein, well-loved friend and innovator in geriatric clinical pharmacy, died peacefully on February 19, 2021. She was born Ellen Joy Bickmore, November 10, 1925 in Logan, Utah, daughter of Claire Barber Bickmore and Harvard Tarry Bickmore, elder sister of John, Katharine, and Marie. She grew up in Preston, Idaho. Joy especially loved extended family time in a rustic cabin in Logan Canyon: food was ‘refrigerated’ in the river, water collected from a ‘secret’ spring, wood chopped for fuel, lanterns and candle light. Joy’s father, a skilled gardener and cabinet-maker who worked at Utah Power and Light, and her mother, an incredible cook, seamstress, reader, and card-player, both loved to laugh, sing and tell stories. After Joy’s father died young, Claire managed through ingenuity and grit to support her family.
Joy began in pharmacy during high school: working at a drug store and soda fountain, sometimes helping to compound drugs. Joy earned her B.Sc in Pharmacy at what is now Idaho State University (1947). Following practice in Salt Lake City, Joy completed her M.Sc (1951) and Ph.D (1956) in Pharmacy at the University of Washington in Seattle. In 1952 she married professor Dr. Elmer M. Plein, who also remained Joy’s scholarly collaborator: together, they developed UW’s Clinical Pharmacy program. Joy taught pharmacotherapeutics for nursing at Seattle Pacific College, then joined the faculty at UW School of Pharmacy. Among the School’s first female faculty members, Joy supported generations of younger and women faculty.
Joy received numerous honors for achievement and service at University of Washington School of Pharmacy, including a special award for Excellence in Interdisciplinary Geriatrics Teaching and Service (1995). Idaho State University awarded her the President’s Medallion (2004) and Distinguished Alumnus (2010). The American Society of Consultant Pharmacists recognized Joy with its highest honor, the George Archambault Award, for her “extraordinary efforts to expand recognition of the unique medication-related needs of the elderly to a wide variety of audiences, advancement of geriatric education in schools of pharmacy and geriatric education centers, and numerous contributions to the pharmacy literature” (2001).
Most of all, Joy will be remembered for her tremendous kindness, ‘can-do’ outlook, wisdom, love of adventure, and supportiveness to many. She is survived by brother-in-law Wayne Goff of Palm Springs, California and his daughter Joanna and grandchildren Jennifer, Marilyn, David and Cristiana and their families; close friends Karan Dawson, Beth Devine, and Mary Morrissey of Seattle and Tacoma; niece Susan Bickmore and spouse Chun Wong of Minneapolis, Minnesota and their children Christopher and Allison; nephew David Bickmore and spouse Teri of Midland, Michigan and their children Brian and Diana; and niece Kathy Bickmore and spouse Nina Bascia of Toronto, Canada.
Gifts in Joy’s honor will be gratefully received by the Plein Center for Geriatric Pharmacy Research, Education and Outreach, established at the University of Washington in 2016 (https://sop.washington.edu/alumni-donors/give-to-the-school/plein-center-in-geriatrics/). To be informed about a future memorial celebration, kindly contact Joy’s family and close friends via [email protected].
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