Page 3 - NBY News January 2019

Senior in Action: Joy Shank
Senior in Action:
Senior in Action:
Senior in Action: Joy ShankJoy Shank
Senior in Action: Joy Shank
Joy Shank
by Marilee Marrero Stefenhagan bullfrog” because of the lyrics that
followed; “Joy to the World.”
Joycelyn, better known as Joy,
submitted a letter to Not Born Yesterday that Joy met her current husband
read: “I am 86 years old, born in August 1932 at Robert “Bob” Shank when she was
French Camp, California. I was like a house-bound working a second job as a dance hostess.
person, but today I belong to the Happy Singers. She was divorced with four kids, so had
We sing at rest homes several days per week. I to support herself and her family. Her
sing AND dance at these performances. I feel mother moved in to babysit Joy’s
this is helping the rest home
patients and it keeps me active and
young.”
Joy’s involvement
with Happy Singers came about
when her friend Linda at the
Mormon church heard her
singing the hymns, and invited
her to join a singing group.
After three months performing
with Happy Singers, Joy sang
her first solo in December 2018;
a Spanish language version of
Silent Night. Another singer
sang Silent Night in German.
Joy’s version was a crowd
pleaser.
Every month, Happy
Singers’ performance follows a
theme. Joy had fun with the
Country Western theme,
wearing a western shirt and
boots. When Nancy Sinatra’s
song started, “These boots are Joycelyn Shank
made for walking,” Joy moved
onto the dance floor to entertain
with some fancy footwork. She loves finding children. At Dreamland Dancehall, Bob
shirts and sweaters that feature her name: invited Joy to dance then asked her out.
JOY. To engage their audience, the Happy He took her to the Palladium for a
Singers often use hand movements which busman’s holiday – dancing! They still
the listeners can mimic. dance together after 62 years of
In her youth, Joy was a professional marriage, and also enjoy a good game
singer who accompanied herself on guitar. of poker. Together they had six more
She performed at dinner shows and sang in children. Now their family has
bars, leading a colorful life. She won a talent expanded to twelve grandchildren, 16
contest singing Patsy Cline’s song, “Crazy.” great grandchildren, and four great-
Joy is grateful now to use her vocal chords great grandchildren. In the 1980s, they
to bring pleasure to others as a volunteer moved from Oahu to California to be
performer with Happy Singers. closer to their growing family.
Joy experienced a difficult Joy took a class at Lancaster
adolescence and dropped out of school in Library about memoir writing, and is
the ninth grade. She finally went to college hoping to write a book about her life.
at age 50, and earned two Master’s Degrees Joy also set a goal of interviewing
at Forest Institute in Hawaii in Psychology veterans and helping them write their
and Sociology. As a prison Psychiatric Social biographies.
Worker, Joy taught guards how to detect and Thank you, Joy, for sharing a
prevent suicide among the inmates, and Joy piece of your life story with Not Born
provided annual anger and stress Yesterday! readers.
management classes for the guards. She
prayed daily that the Lord would keep her BE THE CHANGE
safe. The guards teased her when she arrived YOU WANT TO SEE
each day by singing, “Jeremiah was a
IN THE WORLD

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