Joyce Marilyn Ross

On July 13, 2024, we said goodbye to our family matriarch, Joyce Marilyn (Patterson) Ross. She was born on February 8, 1934, in Wiarton, Ontario. 

Joyce, the eldest of four children, grew up on her family’s farm. It was a life of hard work and simple pleasures. Memories of her youth included working the farm, swimming in the lake, playing with cousins, and attending the one-room schoolhouse where the teacher was her aunt. 

Determined to chart her own path, Joyce left home while still in her teens to work as a phone operator for Bell Canada in London, Ontario. She continued with variations on that career her entire working life, achieving over forty years with various phone companies.

Joyce met her future husband, Linden Ross, on a trip to Detroit. Married on August 27, 1955, they moved to Linden’s hometown of Detroit and welcomed two daughters and a son. 

Joyce was a determined and hardworking woman. At a time when most married women stayed at home after having children, she continued working, often taking night shifts to be with her children during the day. 

Joyce worked at Michigan Bell for the bulk of her career, and she had over 30 years of perfect work attendance…no small feat. She took great pride in her work connecting people around the world.

Even working full-time, Joyce was involved with her children’s interests, managing to be in the audience at every recital, play, or choral performance. She was vigilant to attend conferences with teachers, as education was paramount. She had left home before finishing school, but as a personal goal, got her GED while in her 40s. She studied with a vengeance and achieved the highest score in Detroit that year. 

Despite residing in the U.S. most of her life, Joyce maintained her Canadian citizenship. It wasn’t until she was in her 60s that she became an American citizen. She took the oath of citizenship on her 62nd birthday, with her family looking on. 

After retirement, Joyce remained active, volunteering at her church. She had been a member of Zion United Methodist and Redeemer United Methodist churches in Detroit. 

Joyce was able to be at home when she passed, thanks to the care of hospice and the live-in support of her daughter Lisa and son-in-law Alan Pacey. She was preceded in death by her husband, Linden, in 1998. 

Joyce leaves behind her two sisters, Laura Jeannette Morelli and Linda Robinson; her children, Shannon Ross-Albers, Andrew Ross, and Lisa Ross; her grandchildren, Ian Albers, Logan Albers, Grace Albers, Vivienne Ross, and Morgan Ross; and her great-granddaughters, Rosie and Sylvia Joyce Albers.