"Enjoy"Joyce This memorial website was created to remember our dearest
Joyce Irene McCrorie who was born in Dundas Ontario on
August 2, 1931 and passed away on
November 4, 2011.
Joyce was born to Florence and Earl Clarkson. She had an older sister Audrey and a younger brother Fred, both of whom are pre-deceased.
Joyce moved to Toronto after she married Andy on May 24th, 1956 and they started a family shortly after.
After staying home to raise three children, Karan, Brad and Scott, Joyce went to work at Bagel World Bakery and Deli and fell in love with the food business.
From there she opened her own Deli with Andy in the St. Lawrence market which they named "Gert's Deli". From then on she was affectionately known as "Gert" to her patrons and few knew her by any other name.
Joyce loved to fight for a good cause and when the vendors in the Market were threatened with huge rent increases, she organized the "Save the Market" committee and marched on City Hall to plead their case. It was one of her finest moments.
Over the years Joyce and Andy owned and operated a number of other restaurants, but none were as famous as Gert's Deli. After Andy passed away in Jan. 1996, Gert's Deli closed their doors for the last time and Joyce retired.
She spent her time visiting with her grandchildren, reading and baking. She thoroughly enjoyed having company come to the house and more often than not, a lively discussion of the day's current events, politics and neighbourhood issues would ensue.
Joyce was filled with fire, passion and a strength of will like no other. These qualities helped sustain her through the last years of her life when she suffered from a number of chronic conditions. She would never let her illness defeat her spirit or her determination to live life on her own terms. It is these admirable qualities that she'll be remembered, admired, and loved for.
Joyce is survived by her three children, Karan, Brad and Scott, her daughter in-law Lucy and son-in law Mark and her two grandchildren, Heather and Michael.
There will be a celebration of life held for Joyce. The date has been moving around again. Sorry for any inconvenience. We are now looking at mid january this to let everyone deal with the holiday season. Best wishes for the holidays! For anyone interested in attending, please leave your contact information at: karanmccrorie@gmail.com
