Joan Leslie (Hammond) Moore

Joan Moore of Calgary passed away on April 6, 2021 at the age of 78 years.  Joan is survived by her daughter Heather (Rick) Donkers and grandchildren Mitchell and Sydney Donkers as well as her extended family Brian (Wilma) Moore and Jim (Sherill) Moore and their children Ian Moore, Erin (Ryan) Schram & family, Tara (Chris) Moore and Katrina Moore & family. Joan is also survived by her three siblings; Celia (Ken) Svoboda of Lethbridge, Bruce (Susan) Laycock of Edmonton and Brenda Laycock of Powell River.  Joan was predeceased by her husband John Hodgins Moore, her father David Hammond, her father Douglas Laycock, and her mother Georgina (Hammond) Laycock.  She will also be lovingly remembered by her New Zealand Whanau.

Joan Leslie Hammond was born to Georgina & David Hammond on March 25, 1943 in Calgary Alberta.  For the first part of Joan’s life, she was raised by her mother and grandmother after losing her father at the age of 11 months.  Her mother remarried in 1950 to Doug Laycock and soon became big sister to Celia, Bruce and Brenda.  She loved reading to her siblings, creating paper dolls and sharing her love for music. She lived briefly in Edmonton and finished up her high school years in Saskatoon.  Joan was the first of her family to pursue a postsecondary education;  a B.Sc (H.Ec.) from the University of Saskatchewan. She is credited with inspiring her siblings to pursue higher education. As part of her university experience, she joined the Greystone Singers which was the first of many choirs she was involved with throughout her life. Those include the Mirror Reflection Singers, Armstrong Singers in Medicine Hat and the High Country Chorale.

In 1967, Joan moved back to Alberta to start her career as a District Home Economist in Stettler.  She also developed the discipline to grow her artist talents and started to sell her paintings.  Joan had a keen eye to appreciate the fine details the world has to offer and it was reflected in her artistic ability.  She married a widowed rancher from the Alix area in 1973 and had her only child in 1974.  Exposure to rural life gained her a deep appreciation for nature and wildlife,  which was often reflected in her early artwork.  She also volunteered in the community where she opened new locations for the Mirror and Alix libraries.

In 1988, Joan and John retired to Medicine Hat where she was became a founding member of the Mad ‘atters Art Club. She owned the Prairie Art & Drafting Supplies art shop and cared for John until he passed away in 2001. 

As part of Joan’s retirement plan, she moved to Okotoks in 2003 to be closer to her grandchildren and to be closer to the mountains which she loved deeply.  She again established new friendships by volunteering at the Okotoks Library, sharing her artistic knowledge with others in various art clubs, and becoming part of the Red Deer Lake United Church community.  She produced tons of artwork which is now in many various personal and commercial collections.  Joan’s health started to decline in the last decade. At first, everyone thought it was due to a cancer scare in 2012, however by early 2015 it was confirmed that she suffered from Parkinson's as well as Parkinson’s dementia.

Joan will be remembered as a gracious, loyal and kind neighbour, friend, aunt, sister, grandmother, wife and mother. She will be deeply missed by those who knew and loved her.

A Private Celebration of Life will be held on Friday, April 9, 2021 at 1:00 pm 

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