Leola Joy Brown

L Joy Brown
Obituary 10/08/2021

Our mom, Joy Brown, 85, of Caldwell, Idaho died Sept. 24 at home from complications of dementia. She was born Aug. 4, 1936 in Caldwell to Nola and William Bequeath, the last of four children after Wanda, Barbara and William. Her father was killed in an auto accident when she was two and she was raised in the loving circle of her mother, her grandmother Bequeath and Perky, who did their best the keep them fed, clothed and from killing themselves on one of their many, many adventures in the river, the train trestle over the river (excellent platform for jumping into the river when the trains came by), the canal and in the pond behind the house. She was loved and did love every minute of her childhood.
Mom graduated in the last class of hospital trained registered nurses at St. Luke’s before the program moved to what would become Boise State University. She had many tales of her student nursing days, how they “practically ran” the night shifts in the wards and the emergency room. They lived in a dorm across the street from the hospital from which they could take the fabled tunnels under the street and into the hospital basement. It was a handy, if slightly terrifying, short cut on snowy day
She worked at St. Luke’s her entire nursing career and was extremely proud of being a nurse. She was the family medical advisor and it was a given that any cuts, bruises, coughs or fevers needed a call to Aunt Joy for diagnosis. Toward the end, even when she forgotten many things, she always remembered she was a nurse and that she could fix what ailed you.
Mom and her sisters were very close and they all adored their mother. All the cousins, the Aunts and Grandma spent many summer days at Spring Shores. They took us all camping in the summer to Cascade or Atlanta. After they were shed of all those noisy kids, Mom and her sisters took Grandma on many fine adventures to the Oregon coast or long day drives over the Galena summit. She was most in her element when they were all together. They spent every Thursday until Grandma died playing cards at Grandma’s kitchen table, laughing and tending the seemingly endless stream of grandkids who poured into the house.
It was as a grandmother that Mom really shone. After they moved to the farm all the grandkids spent summers with the grandparents there and at their house in Bear, Idaho. She always said she turned them loose in the mornings and counted heads at dinner to make sure they had all returned more or less intact. They worshipped her and she thought her grandkids walked on water. Then the great-grandkids started to arrive and Mom was in a whole new level of happiness. The den was a fully stocked play room. The drawers were full of books and cabinets were dedicated to their secret stashes of items you only get at Gramma Joy’s house.   
Mom was a storied BSU football fan who never missed a home game, never left the stadium until the final whistle blew and owned pretty much every item of blue and orange fan gear available. She was able to travel to many away games and loved every minute especially if she was in the same hotel as the team and snagged an elevator ride with Coach Pete or one of her “boys”. She had tickets to THAT Fiesta Bowl game and never tired of watching the DVD of the game afterward.
The loss of her husband, then her mom and, finally each of her siblings, left her broken hearted each time. Even in her final years she knew she was the last of her tribe and it was a sorrow to her. She was able to stay in her home until the end due to the efforts of her children. A special thanks goes to her son, David, and to Loretta Rost whose steadfast care kept her comfortable and safe until her death.
Mom is survived by her children, David (Loretta), Teresa (Peter) and Mark (Sara). She also leaves five grieving grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren and one soon to be born great-grandchild who is sure to hear the stories about her and feel her love from on high.
Graveside services will be held Oct. 12 at 2 p.m. at Canyon Hill Cemetery where she will join generations of her family. Arrangements are with Dakan Funeral Home in Caldwell. Service will be led by the Rev. Andrew Kukla of 1st Presbyterian Church, Boise. Due to the ongoing dangers of Covid, no funeral reception will be held at this time. We hope to meet in the summer to share our memories.
The family asks that instead of flowers, donations in her honor be made to the BSU Nursing program.

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