Stevensville – Joy Wilda Gover, age 102, slipped to a better world peacefully on October 9th, 2020 at The Living Centre in Stevensville, MT.
“Grandma Joy’’ as she was affectionately called by the many who knew her was born on December 16, 1917 on the Cooper Homestead in Meagher County near White Sulphur Springs, MT.
After the Cooper Family gave over the homestead and moved to Manhattan, MT, she attended school and ultimately graduated from Manhattan High School.
Joy married William (Bill) Shadoan and they had three sons, David, Danny, and Doug. After Bill and David’s accidental death, Joy and her second husband Ken Gover, who preceded her in death in 1980, had a son and daughter, Kelvin and Patty. They moved to Victor, MT in 1966 to run a Husky Service Station and a small diner and coffee shop. She loved watching and cheering on the Victor Pirates and being a part of the Victor community.
Joy loved working in the Victor community and serving others at the Box Elder Cafe, Victor Merc, Senior Center and finally retired at the age of 90 from the Victor School Library.
The homestead experience shaped Joy’s personality, she lived life as a strong, self-sufficient and loving soul, watchfully taking care of everyone who passed by her way.
Joy is preceded in death by her siblings Alv, George, Bill, Howard, Blanch, and Junie; her step¬children Buddy, Vernon, and Barb; her son David; and her husbands Bill and Ken. Joy is survived by her daughter Patty; her three sons Danny and Ann, Douglas and Ruth, and Kelvin and Cheryl; her stepdaughter Frances and Doug; and her daughter-in-law Gwin.
She is also survived by 14 grandchildren, 15 great grandchildren, several nieces and nephews, and one sister-in-law Audrey Gover of Manhattan, MT.
All of her family will miss her deeply.
Services will be a Celebration of Life in the Spring of 2021. Condolences and memories may be shared with the family at www.whitesittfuneralhome.com.