Our apartment in Seattle was on the annual migration route of Joy and Alberta. Every spring they would leave their snow bird home in Yuma, Arizona and head north along the pacific coast to their summer home in Osoyoos, British Columbia. In the years before we had moved there, they wouldn’t stop but continue farther west to the sleepy little town of Sequim along the Strait of Juan de Fuca where they have a rustic one-room cabin that Joy had bought sight-unseen from a friend in Yuma years ago. Their visits were always wonderful and their gracious invitation to Sequim was always a treat. My favorite part was that Joy always brought a huge box of dates that I loved to share with him.
On one visit, we awoke at 5:00am to say our farewells (Joy was always keen to leave at the crack of dawn). Brooke and I were still groggy and barely awake, but Joy, as usual, was bright-eyed and ready to tackle the day. That morning he was especially chipper. He quickly huddled the four of us into a tight circle and said with great energy and seriousness, “Last night I had a dream and I believe…,” we waited in suspense, “… it is time to give my sail boat to Brooke and Mike.” Wow! Talk about a surprise. A few days earlier I had mentioned to Joy that I took a free two-day dinghy class from the University of Washington. I guess he thought that showed my initiative to become a sailor. Now I’m the proud owner of a beautiful 30 foot sailboat!
That kind of spontaneous giving is just one of many personality traits that I admire about Joy Sevy. Every moment with him is interesting, exciting, and inspirational (including the 2 day road trip we took to haul the sailboat from Osoyoos to Sequim).
The most adventurous experience occurred a few summers ago on a hot summer evening. Maryjoy asked me to go to the grocery store to buy ice cream for everyone. I quickly ran to my car because I knew the store would be closing soon. Joy, who was working in the yard, noticed my haste and said he’d join me, I think for the thrill of it. We arrived at the grocery store just as they shut off the automatic sliding glass doors. I turned to Joy to lament that we were too late, but he was already out of the car running to the doors. I followed his charge, “Come on! Come on!”, he said, “We’ve got to get in there!” He was oblivious to me telling him they were closed as he pried open the doors and slipped inside. Right away the cashiers yelled at us, but Joy was determined. He ran straight to the freezers in the back. I think he thought he was in the war evading the Japanese as we ran in and out of the aisles to escape the teenage baggers that were hot on our tail. When we arrived at the counter we were surrounded by store employees. The energy was high and my blood was running as Joy argued our case. I stood by his side feeling like a solider backed into a corner, poised to never surrender. Despite Joy’s valiant effort, we were denied that carton of ice cream. The victory for me was the experience of Joy’s fun-loving excitement and indomitable tenacity.
On another occasion he took me golfing at the country club in Osoyoos. As we walked past the club house, he assured me that octogenarians, and their guests, didn’t need to pay. We proceeded straight to the fourth hole (because it was his favorite) and then played eight more holes in a random order that suited him. Best yet, we were hitting three balls each and only counted the one with the lowest score!
Joy’s audacity isn’t my only memory of him. I will always remember his other admirable qualities, like his relentless patriotism, strong work ethic, genuine sincerity, unyielding love of the gospel, and candid friendship. Joy was a wonderful man. I am grateful to have known him and I am glad we named our daughter after him (and Maryjoy). I hope she will develop their best qualities.
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