Joyce Elaine Wright

Joyce E. (Rowan) Wright, 84, of Spokane passed on August 22, 2017 after a long battle with renal failure as a result from Type II Diabetes.
Oprah Winfrey recently said of legacy: "Your legacy is every life you've touched… Living a life through substance… Your offering of whole self…. What do you stand for?" Joyce Wright embodied all that is good, true and pure about that sentiment. Rare is the person who was kind to all she met. She was never intimidated by power or money. Joyce left all she met a little happier. She connected with people of all walks of life. She found dignity and good in all.
Mrs. Wright was a renaissance woman. She was an amazing cook and baker but was especially known for her amazing pies. She was an academic and continued to learn until she passed. Reading and politics were some of her many joys and was a daily subscriber to the Spokesman-Review for over 49 years! Her love and talent for design and thrifting was reflected in her beautiful home. Her home was magazine worthy thanks to her keen eye for antiques and preserved family heirlooms. She passed along a minutely detailed family history in stories going back into the 1880s for her children. She was a passionate mother who took great lengths to expose her children to art, literature, science, music and foreign cultures. Traveling was one of her great joys and saw a greater part of the continental U.S.
Joyce started her life in 1933 Troy, ID to Lottie and Frank Rowan. She was the first person in the family to graduate from the University of Idaho in 1955 with a BA in Journalism. An incredible achievement being the daughter of a man who only had a 3rd grade education and only learned to read when he married. From this man, she learned her love of reading and value of education. In 1954, she married James E. Wright.
Mrs. Wright was a feminist before being one was fashionable. After graduation, she immediately went to work at the high school she graduated from in Troy where she taught typing and short hand. She loved that she could teach marketable skills to young men and women for a rapidly changing workplace of the 1950s.
She later moved to Newark, NJ then Jonestown, PA later to Tampa and Orlando, FL where her first child was born in 1960. While in Florida, she worked for Catholic Charities doing adoptions and placing refugee Cuban children. In the late 1960s, she then moved to Sunnyside, WA with her family and worked with migrant workers' children by putting them in summer school. For some, this was the only school they attended that year. She successfully convinced one of the fathers there to "allow" his daughter to attend college. In 1968 Joyce moved to Spokane and had her daughter where she remained until her death.
Joyce worked for the Washington State DSHS for over 25 years as a social worker and union leader. Her civic activity was prolific: President of Church Women United, Board member of Women and Children's Free Restaurant, Board Member of the NAACP and recipient of their Community Leadership Award 2015, Democratic Party Precinct leader, additionally numerous advocacy groups supporting environmental issues and those of lower socioeconomic means. Her goal was always to work collectively and never with any ego. And if Joyce was in attendance, you know she'd be bringing something lovely to eat.
As a mother, she taught her children to see the beauty in small things. To chase their dreams and never give up. To seek excellence and avoid perfectionism. That life was short so use the good china, travel, seize opportunity and to have fun. And above all, she let them know how deeply they were loved and that they could always come home. She rejoiced when her children moved – sometimes far away. Even though she missed them terribly, she knew it meant she had done her job. But it was always clear - her children could always come home. There was a harbor for safe haven. That her house was their home too…
She succeed in teaching her core family values of getting an education, buying a house, humor in the face of adversity, standing against injustice and most importantly - being nice to everyone!
Her departure will leave a vacancy that can never be filled. She will be missed beyond measure.
Survived by: Daughter, Barbara M. Wright, Oakland, CA. Grandchildren: James E. Wright III, Phillip Sims and Sarah Sims, Aime, Daniel & Katrina Hertlein, Spokane. Niece/Nephews: Phyllis and Jim Marker Lewiston, ID. Gale Jacks & Jim Jacks. Cousins: Corine Baune, Regina Sandau, Steve Marker.
Predeceased: Father F. Rowan, 1975. Husband James E. Wright, 1976. Sister Florence Donelly. Mother L. Rowan 1985. Son James E. Wright Jr. 6/2017.
Hospice House of Spokane/South Hill was amazing. Namaste to all we encountered.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to: Catholic Charities/Margaret's Shelter or Second Harvest.
Services will be held at:
Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church
3327 S. Perry St.
Spokane, WA 99203
Thursday August 31 at 1100am with reception in the church hall.