Joyce was born in Winnipeg on December 3, 1924, the daughter of Hugh and Doris Campkin. In 1939, the Campkin family moved to a large property on Canada Way in Burnaby.

Joyce enrolled in the School of Nursing at Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) in April 1944. As required, she lived in the strict student nurse residence at the hospital. In October 1947, she was awarded her nurse’s cap and Certificate of Registration. After a few years on various wards at VGH, she was assigned to the Operating Room. Joyce then entered the Teaching and Supervision in Nursing program at McGill University in Montreal. Upon her return to VGH, she resumed her service in the Operating Room, now as assistant supervisor. In short order, she transitioned to the role of instructor in VGH’s School of Nursing.

Times were changing in the profession and Joyce enrolled in the UBC School of Nursing. She graduated in 1971 with the degree of Bachelor of Science in Nursing. A former nursing student of “Miss Campkin” wrote: “She was kind and funny and passionate” about nursing and inspired many students. She retired from VGH in 1989 after about 44 years.

Determined to age in place, Joyce stayed active and engaged with life in her small apartment block adjacent to Lost Lagoon at Stanley Park. In 2016 (at age 92) she wrote and published her autobiography Good Times: A Story of Life Well Lived. Music always brought a great deal of joy to Joyce. She studied piano and voice and was a long-term season ticket holder and donor to the Vancouver Chamber Choir and Choir Leoni Men’s Choir. Although her hearing and eyesight diminished and the logistics of attendance became more complicated, she continued to attend live performances until COVID forced a pause in them.

Joyce passed away at St. Paul’s hospital on August 3, 2021.