Joyce Paynter remembered for spreading message of peace
For some, Joyce Paynter won’t just be remembered as the celebrated war veteran that she was.
For some, she’ll also be remembered as a loving and hard-working mother.
“She was a super mom,” her son Gary said, tearing up.
Joyce died on July 30, 2019 at Whisperwood Villa in Charlottetown, at 93 years old. Throughout her life she was well-recognized for her extensive community involvement.
She grew up in Leicester, England. In 1942, she met Arthur, a Canadian soldier, who was posted in her hometown during the Second World War.
They got married the next year, but he was sent to fight in Italy a month later. When she turned 18, she was accepted into the 43rd Company of the Canadian Women’s Auxiliary Corps. When the war ended in 1945, the war bride shipped across the Atlantic to see her new home for the first time – French River, P.E.I.
Gary was her first-born of four children. His mother would do everything around their family farm, he said.
“She worked her fingers to the bone.”
During harvest season, she’d prepare large meals for the entire family plus the hired workers, and she wouldn’t hesitate to jump on the tractor right after. If the water pumps lost power during winter-time, she’d be right beside Gary, helping him haul buckets, he said.
“Cattle seemed to drink more water when the power went out.”
She washed and packed chicken eggs to trade for groceries, and she’d help animals give birth to their young. Even when she developed asthma because of the farm work, she didn’t stop.
“(She was) the person up every morning to light the woodstove,” Gary said. “To warm the house before the rest got up. And the last one to put a stick in it at night.”
The family later moved to Charlottetown because of Arthur’s health. He dealt with PTSD after the war, but he was the family anchor, Gary said.
The couple volunteered at a physically and mentally challenged organization. When Arthur died in 1970, his war bride leaned deeper into her community involvement.
She played an active role in many organizations throughout her later life. She spoke at many schools across the Island, sharing her war experience and her message of peace.
She was a decorated member of The Royal Canadian Legion and instituted a number of firsts for ex-service women, like earning them the right to parade back to the branch following Remembrance Day ceremonies. In 2002, she received the Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation Medal for her contributions to Island veterans and her own sacrifices as one.
Gary now lives in Stanhope and is since retired. His sister, Sandra Gauthier, stayed by Joyce’s bedside to help her as her health deteriorated, up until last month when Joyce died.
“(My sister) deserves a gold star.”
When his father died, Gary took on many family responsibilities, such as settling the farm estate. But his mother was always there beside him for guidance and support, just like when they hauled water buckets for the cattle.
“I would never replace my father,” he said. “But together, with her, I’d try to spread her word.”
The funeral was held on Aug. 3, and she was buried in Geddie Memorial Cemetery in Springbrook.