Our
beloved mother, grandmother, and
great-grandmother, Joy Eileen Walker Fagenstrom,
94, passed away peacefully on September 6, 2015
in her home surrounded by family.She was born on July 12, 1921 in Basin, Wyoming, to Doc (MB) and Olive (Townsend) Walker. After graduating from Basin High School in 1939, she attended Stanford University for one year. She transferred and graduated from the five-year nursing program at Montana State College in Bozeman in 1944. Joy was a member of the Chi Omega Sorority. She was a nursing instructor at the Deaconess Hospital in Great Falls.
Joy met Richard L. Fagenstrom at MSU, and had an enduring courtship during World War II. They married one month after he returned from the war on July 27, 1946 at St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Basin, Wyoming. They returned to Bozeman, where Dick finished college and then back to Great Falls, where Jane was born.
In 1948, looking for a little adventure, they moved to California. In 1950, she was diagnosed with tuberculosis and spent nearly two years in a sanitarium, then at home on bed rest. She not only survived, but lived to have four more children: Nancy, Susan, Janis and Joe while living in Wyoming. In 1963 the family moved to Great Falls where she went back to work as a nurse. In 1971 they moved to Eastport, Idaho and then Bonners Ferry, Idaho where she spent several years raising her four youngest children. Once they left the roost, she went back to work as a nurse.
When Dick & Joy retired they enjoyed traveling between their homes in Arizona and Northern Idaho. In 1999, they made their permanent home in Surprise, Arizona where Dick passed away in 2006. Each time she returned to Bonners Ferry, Joy always commented on how much she missed the mountains, trees, and all the green.
In 2011 Joy moved to Missoula to be closer to more of her children and enjoyed four years as a part of the Grizzly Peak assisted living community. In February she moved in with her daughter, Nancy and husband, Ron where she lived out her remaining months.
Joy had a life-long passion for caring for others. She enjoyed her career as a nurse, especially her years spent in labor and delivery. Her greatest joy was her family, especially the babies. She was proud of all of her offspring and relished family gatherings. Joy said the happiest time in her life was when she was raising her kids. “It all goes by so fast, enjoy it while you can.” She modeled faithful living, being a part of her church family wherever she lived. She was a survivor, having battled and won against tuberculosis, two kinds of cancer, and at 86, back surgery. She even graduated from Hospice this spring! Joy was a good listener, a great cook, an avid knitter, a classy dresser and well loved by all who met her.
Joy is survived by her children, Jane (Duane) Congleton of Goodyear,Arizona; Nancy (Ron) Marks of Missoula, Montana; Susan (Eric) Doering of Colfax, Washington; Janis (Jim) Tucker of Bonners Ferry, Idaho; and Joe (Lori) Fagenstrom of Grass Valley, California. She is also survived by thirteen grandchildren: Gwen Brahler and Brian (Sundae) Congleton of Colorado Springs, Colorado; Erik Marks of Buckeye, Arizona; Isaac (Kathie) Marks of Missoula, Montana; Liz Marks of Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Megan
(Mike) Dorman of Colfax,Washington; Kyle Doering of Lewiston, Idaho; Kinsey (Adam) Roberts of LaCrosse, Washington; James (Sarah) Tucker of Surprise, Arizona; Jodi (Chad) Booth of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; Austin Tucker of Bonners Ferry, Idaho; Adam & Emily Fagenstrom of Grass Valley, California; and thirteen great-grandchildren: Josie, Juniper and Tessa Brahler; Reese, Brooks, Beck and Charlie Congleton; Bethany Marks; Lexie and Emma Dorman; Katie Jo, Tucker and Kerrie Booth.
Joy was preceded in death by her husband of sixty years, Richard L. Fagenstrom, her parents, and brother, Myron Walker.
Interment took place at the Western Mt. Veteran’s Cemetery next to her husband, Dick. A Memorial service will be held on November 1, 2015 at 2:30 p.m. at the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Missoula with Pastor Molly Sasser-Goehner presiding. A special thanks to the staff at Home Instead and Partners in Home Care Hospice for their care of Joy during her last months. Memorial donations may be made in her name to Trinity Lutheran Church Memorial Fund, 6784 Cody St., Bonners Ferry, Idaho 83805, or to Auburn
Crest Hospice, Bonners Ferry, Idaho, 6371 Kootenai St., Unit 4 and 9, Bonners Ferry, Idaho 83805.