Joyce Ann Toohey

Joyce Ann Toohey, 75 years young, passed away on February 27, 2025, in Lakeside, California. Joyce was born in La Junta, Colorado on September 16th, 1949. She graduated from Pueblo County High School in 1967 before moving to San Diego where she became an Accounting Technician and dedicated 37 years as a civilian employee for the United States Navy. In her retirement, Joyce harnessed her fierce independence, meticulous nature, and financial management skills to invest in real estate. She owned numerous properties over the years and enjoyed living in many of them while upgrading and remodeling them before moving on to the next one. Joyce was vibrant and young at heart. She had a strategic and competitive nature and enjoyed bowling, darts, cards, and board games providing her family and friends with untold hours of laughter during their ‘competitions.’ Joyce loved watching Dancing with The Stars and shared that if she had a do over in life, she would have liked to have been a competitive dancer. Joyce firmly believed that there is no such thing as too many plants, especially succulents, and particularly, cacti. She had a deep appreciation of things that are pretty and took pride in displaying and caring for her life-long collection of glass and figurines. Most of all, Joyce had a profound love of cats. Big or small, housecats or wild cats, cuddly cats or scaredy cats, she loved them all and shared her home with many over the years. Joyce is preceded in death by her parents, Richard and Emma Welsh, her brothers William and Charles, and her husband, Robert. She is survived by her daughter, Michelle and her wife, Cindy, her brothers Robert, Ronald and his wife, Dianne. She is also survived by her sister and dear friend, Bettye. Following Joyce’s lead, Bettye and her husband Dusty moved their family to San Diego in 1982. After recently losing her husband, Bettye moved just a couple doors away from her beloved sister. Joyce is also survived by multiple grandchildren and nieces and nephews and will be missed dearly by all who knew her. In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations be made to: Friends of Cats Inc. at 15587 Olde Hwy 80, El Cajon, CA 92021 (619) 561-0361, to honor her enduring love for cats.

Joyce Ann Toohey

September 16, 1949 - February 27, 2025