A longtime community figure has passed away. Grace Joe, former winner of Burnaby's Kushiro Cup, died on July 12.
Every year, the Kushiro Cup goes to Burnaby's Citizen of the Year, and Joe received the honour in 2002 for her outstanding contributions to the community.
"Wherever there's a need, wherever there's a call, I will go," Joe told the NOW in 2003. "You can (volunteer), any time, anywhere. You don't have to wait for the opportunity. It just presents itself."
Joe was a registered nurse who taught nursing in Victoria, Vancouver and New Westminster. She also studied gerontology at SFU and taught English as a second language. She spent five decades volunteering for the benefit of others. She helped the Bonsor Seniors' Society Health Alert program and volunteered with groups like the city's Citizen Support Services. She helped other seniors, by taking them shopping, assisting with tax forms or keeping the isolated ones company. She donated blood and also worked with the RCMP's victim services program.
In a note to the NOW, Joe's daughter, Gail, described what her mother meant to others. "Mom was not only the matriarch in our family, but was also a mother to everyone she met. Her caring nature for people made them feel very special because she took such an interest in them. This compassion resulted in over 50 years of volunteer work that she did with society."
Joe also received the O'Keefe Shining Light Award for her work with seniors. In 2007, she received the Governor General's Caring Canadian Award for her "outstanding and selfless contribution to the community and to Canada."
Joe's memorial service will be on Saturday, Aug. 20, at 10: 30 a.m. in South Burnaby United Church, at 7591 Gray Ave. - where she taught Sunday school.
