Obituary of Joy Garney

Amelia “Joy” Garney of Falls Church, Virginia, passed away on October 15, 2013. Born in La Crosse, WI, on June 18, 1929, to the late George and Amelia Wojack, Joy grew up in Minneapolis, MN. She graduated high school from St. Hedwig’s (Minneapolis) and from the College of St. Catherine’s (St. Paul), with a B.A. in Biology and minors in Chemistry and Social Sciences. She met her husband, John “Jack” Garney, a student at St. Thomas College (St. Paul), through their passion for politics. While raising her first three children, she worked as a cancer researcher for the University of Minnesota Hospitals. A month after her fourth child was born, the family moved to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where Joy began a 20-year adventure living – Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kenya, Taiwan, Thailand – and traveling abroad as a Foreign Service /USAID wife. Her youngest two children were born in Addis Ababa. While living overseas, Joy actively participated and worked in numerous women’s organizations and activities at all posts. For the past 39 years she lived in the Washington DC area, working in various administrative positions, ending up at the National Leadership Coalition for Health Care Reform, a cause close to her heart. Joy loved living in Washington DC, taking advantage of the vast array of festivals, theater, music, lectures, cuisine, and gardens that the area offered. For many years she was a volunteer for the Smithsonian. She still continued to travel, primarily to her beloved Scotland. Both overseas and in Washington, Joy met and stayed close to many good and dear friends whom she loved and remembered fondly. Joy was known most of all for her cooking and her LOVE of food. Food was the essence of Joy and she was adventurous in her cooking endeavors as well as in her sampling. Her garden, wherever she lived was bountiful and beautiful. She was a voracious reader and her intellectual pursuits were vast and varied. From singing in choral groups to acting in local theaters, Joy also had a flair for the musical arts. She loved to dance, especially when it came to kicking up a good Polka. She is survived by her husband John of Sun City, AZ; six children, Debbie Ciminski of Naples, FL; Lynn Garney of San Francisco, CA; Celia Wolter of Alexandria, VA; Geoffrey (Ginny) of Alexandria, VA; Tennessee Garney (Kyung-Mi) of Yorktown, VA; Suzanne Garney (Dan Kane) of Santa Fe, NM; one brother, Kenneth Wojack (Elaine) of Minneapolis, MN; four grandchildren, Jesse, Monica, Claire, Georgia. She is also survived by numerous relatives and dear friends all over the world. She is preceded in death by two sisters (Janet Tomcyzk & Audrey Gable) and three brothers (George, Louie, Jimmy). A celebration of her life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in honor of Joy to WETA (Public Television & Radio), 3939 Campbell Avenue, Arlington, VA 22206. Joy was the heart of the Garney family and we will miss her dearly