Obituary of Joyce May Coe

Joyce May Coe (mom) passed away peacefully in the Coronado home she lived in with her daughter Linda and son-in-law Rod on November 7, 2018.  She was a beloved mother, grandmother, great grandmother, aunt and friend, and is greatly missed.

Mom was born in the Willesden Green area of NW London to Leonard and Ethyl Bagnall Hunt.  Her full name at birth was Joyce Amy Clara May Hunt, middle names after three aunts.  She had two siblings, sister Dorothy and brother Raymond.  After the Germans started bombing London in 1940 during World War II, her family relocated to the English countryside around the Greenham and Crookham Commons area of Thatcham, near the town of Newbury in Berkshire England.  Mom often talked about her experiences living in air raid shelters during the German Blitz and what the Blitz did to London and families.  Her happiest memories recounted were those of growing up in a converted bakery on "the commons" near Newbury.  It was there that she met her life-long friend, May, with whom she kept in contact all their lives.  And she also acquired her deep love of nature, living near and walking through fields of wild flowers and wildlife on a daily basis.  Mom lived near Greenham air field and would recount stories of the Americans helping England fight the war and the planes that would come in after bombing runs.  She retained a life-long fascination with planes and helicopters.  

As a teenager, she went to work in Newbury at a print shop setting type and met her other life-long friend, Susie.  She also met her husband (our dad), Jose M Ortega, at a dance in Newbury. Jose was stationed in the Army at nearby Greenham air base during the end of the Korean war.  They married in 1952 and came to America, eventually settling in San Diego.  Mom’s career was as a homemaker and mom, raising four children over their 27 year marriage in the La Mesa/Spring Valley area.  We have fond memories of home baked bread and listening to big band music.  She joined the Spring Valley Jehovah’s Witnesses congregation where she practiced her faith and made many friends.  In 1979, mom started a 20 year career in retail sales, primarily at Mervyns, while also enjoying the many grandchildren that started coming into her life.  Mom married Leon "Lonnie" Coe in 1982 with some adventures and stories to tell over a 10 year union.  Mom retired from Mervyns in 1989. She and Lonnie moved to the Branson, Missouri area where she loved working at the Silver Dollar City theme park.  In 1991, mom visited her mother in England for a couple of months, resettling her into a retirement home.  After mom’s return from England, she moved to Coronado near daughter Linda and Rod.  She worked as a pharmacy and retail clerk at Central Drug in Coronado for 10 years and during this time period, mom beat cancer.  After hearing mom’s stories all our lives of her life growing up in England, we took a family trip of a lifetime to England in 2002 for moms 70th birthday where she was reunited with her two life-long friends, her brothers family, and we visited the area where she grew up, and we all toured London where we learned details about life during WWII. 

After that trip, mom retired from full time retail work and at the end of 2002, relocated to Albuquerque NM, Ventana Ranch area, near daughter Laura and Greg.  She worked some part time jobs to keep busy and joined a Jehovah’s Witness congregation there where she made many new friends.  During this time she became an avid reader and especially loved English author Catherine Cookson who wrote many stories based in the regional area mom grew up in.  She 

enjoyed family time watching her grandchildren and great grandchildren grow up in the Albuquerque area.  She loved the Sandia mountains and going on family outings to the Albuquerque zoo and aquarium.

When mom could no longer live on her own, she moved back to Coronado in 2015 to live with daughter Linda and Rod who, with help from daughter Lois and Tim, cared for her until her death.  She had a happy, secure and peaceful life her last four years and enjoyed the “little things” in life.  She loved walks near the ocean and bay and around the neighborhood.   She loved listening to bird’s chirp, to look at all the yards full of flowers, to point out the Navy aircraft, and meeting neighborhood friends.  She attended weekly chair yoga at the Coronado senior center and loved trips to Balboa Park, the zoo, shopping centers, dinner out (especially for fish and chips), English afternoon tea, and to have a glass of wine at happy hour.  And mostly, mom enjoyed a lot of quality family time with her San Diego area grandchildren and great grandchildren. 

Mom always had us laughing at her one-liners and we loved her fascination with hummingbirds, white roses, costume jewelry, classic cars with shiny paint jobs, aircraft flying overhead, a full moon, baby’s in strollers, puppies, and old movies (especially all the Alfred Hitchcock ones).  We never tired of being asked where she was from when someone would hear her British accent.  She was a sweet, gentle and kind person, with a little bit of feistiness, a British reserve, and a quick wit.

Joyce is survived by her children Linda Weissenberger (Rod) of Coronado, Jose Ortega (Carolyn) of Norwalk IA, Laura Pallulat (Greg) of Albuquerque NM, and Lois McWay (Tim Hodges) of San Diego; nine grandchildren and 19 great grandchildren, as well as the families of her nieces and nephews in Great Britain.  She is pre-deceased by her parents, her siblings, her husbands, and by a son who died shortly after birth.

A visitation and Celebration of Life was held on November 10 in the chapel at Legacy Funeral Care, La Mesa CA.  A private interment was held on November 14 at Mt Hope Memorial Park, San Diego. 

The family would like to say thank you to Sharp Transitions and Hospice Care for their expertise and great care during mom’s final weeks; and also to Annie Valletta, local Coronado caregiver extraordinaire and mom’s best friend during the last years of her life.  If you would like to make a donation in Joyce Coe’s memory, the family suggests donations to Sharp Hospice Care; George G. Glenner Alzheimer’s Family Centers; or to your local Alzheimer’s organization.