Josephine Victoria Hukalo Smith

Joyce passed away peacefully on February 15, 2019 at the Youville Home in St. Albert at the age of 82 years.

She is survived by three sisters: Bernadette Stiles, Theresa Elgert, Joanna Koziak and one brother, Lawrence Hikalo.

She is predeceased by her husband Raymond.

Joyce Hukalo was born in Edmonton on July 25, 1936. She grew up in the Calder area and attended St Edmonds School and then St Mary’s High School. After graduation she attended the University of Alberta where she took pharmacy, graduating in 1957. She spent all her working career in the retail pharmacy trade. Her first job was at a brand new pharmacy on 118th Avenue and 80th Street, called Al-Chem Drug. From there she went to Hart’s Drug Store in Bonnie Doon. Her next stop was Mid-Town Drug in the old bus depot in downtown Edmonton. She next moved to the Strathcona Prescription Centre, owned by Mr Griswold. After his passing she spent a short stint at Speedway Drug in North Edmonton before moving to Woodward’s Pharmacy at Northgate, where she spent 15 years before Woodward’s shut down in 1992. After that she worked part time at Zeller’s Pharmacy in St Albert until 1999.

Joyce met Raymond Stewart Smith (born November 9, 1941) at bowling in 1966. They dated, were engaged, and then married a year and a half later, on November 18th, 1967. They called it their Centennial Project. They lived near St Joseph’s High School in an apartment before buying a 3 bedroom bungalow in St Albert in June, 1976, where they resided until health issues forced them out. They were married for 48 years.

During their lifetime Joyce and Ray enjoyed traveling around Canada and also became interested in antiques and collectibles. In the early summer of 1975 they attended the organizational meeting for what would become the Wild Rose Antique Collectors. They became charted members and attended every meeting and club event after that until health prevented them from doing so. Among their many collections, Ray amassed a large collection of Viewmaster items and Joyce gathered an impressive collection of Alta Glass.

Both Joyce and Ray had health problems in their later years. Ray developed Diabetes and Joyce suffered kidney failure. Joyce received a kidney transplant in August of 1999. Ray spent several years in Youville Home before his passing on December 18, 2015, and Joyce was admitted to the same facility in September of 2017 where she resided until she passed away on February 15, 2019.

Sincere thanks to the staff at Youville Home for their compassion and care of Joyce while she was a resident there.

A Funeral Liturgy will be held on Tuesday February 26th at 2:00 p.m., at Connelly-McKinley St. Albert Funeral Home, 9 Muir Drive St. Albert, T8N 1G1, officiated by Reverend Ignacy Warias, OMI. Cremation has taken place.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Joyce’s name may be made to the Kidney Foundation of Canada.