Obituary of Joan Myers

91 years old, died at her home in Santa Barbara on February 23, 2013. She was born and grew up in the small foothills town of Rocky Mountain House, Alberta where she developed a lifelong love of the outdoors. When she was seventeen, she accompanied her family on a car trip to Southern California, and impressed with the beauty of the beach in Oceanside, decided to try to spend as much of the rest of her life as possible on the coast of Southern California. Then at age eighteen, she and a sister went on a two month bus tour of the American West, where she was again captivated by the area. After working for several years in her father's general store, she enrolled in the University of Toronto, where she graduated with a degree in physiotherapy in 1946. Later that year she married John Earle "Jack" Myers, who also grew up in rural Alberta and was working on a degree in chemical engineering. Joan worked briefly in the field of physiotherapy, and soon moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan while Jack worked on his PhD. They then settled in West Lafayette, Indiana, where Jack taught at Purdue University. There they raised two sons, John and Richard. In 1966, Joan's dream of living on the southern California coast came true when Jack accepted a job as chairman of the Department of Chemical Engineering at UCSB. Jack and Joan had great times exploring the Santa Barbara area and Joan led the Faculty Women's Hiking Group at UCSB. She loved her neighborhood of More Mesa where she lived for the last 45 years. Jack and Joan took their RV on many trips throughout the West and traveled also to many countries in Europe, Asia, and Central America. After Jack's death in 1995 Joan remained active, traveling with her sister Gwen and Gwen's husband Derek. Throughout, Joan was dedicated to her family, and inspired many with her love of the natural world. Until a few years ago she walked about two miles almost every day. She leaves behind her sisters Gwen and Margaret, a brother Joseph, and their families, as well as sons John and Richard and their families. She has five granddaughters and two great grandsons. A memorial service will be held Friday March 1 at 3 PM at McDermott-Crockett Mortuary, 2020 Chapala St., Santa Barbara. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the museum in her original home town, The Rocky Mountain House Museum, P.O. Box 1508, Rocky Mountain House, AB, T4T 1B2, Canada.