SULLIVAN
Bertha Gordon Joy, 93, of Sullivan went home to be with Jesus on Dec. 3, 2019.
She was born May 22, 1926, to Ralph Gordon and Frida (Smith) Gordon.
Bertha attended Sullivan High School and then Westbrook College, where she earned a degree in business. Upon graduating, she married Bart Joy, with whom she had four children.
She was a hard-working woman, who worked for many years in sales and later worked as a private home health aide.
Bertha was a woman of great faith, who had a passion for her Lord and used her many gifts for Him, such as her beautiful voice and piano playing. She had long felt a calling of God to ministry. At the age of 72, she enrolled in Faith School of Theology and at 75 years of age she graduated with a degree in ministry as the oldest graduate in the school’s history.
After graduating, she continued to work. She joked that she was “The elderly taking care of the elderly.”
She enjoyed her work, as it gave her the opportunity to tell many about the Hope they too could have in Jesus. That if they would believe in Him and ask for forgiveness of sin, He would forgive them and grant them eternal life.
Bertha was predeceased by her mother, father, three sisters, her son Steven Joy and daughter Lorraine Jardine. She is survived by her son, the Rev. Paul Joy, and wife, Ruth, of Swan’s Island, daughter Christina Maddocks and her husband, Fred, of Hereford, Ariz., son-in-law Charlie Jardine of Orland, 15 grandchildren and 26 great-grandchildren.
The family would like to thank the nurses and staff of the Cortland Rehab and Living Center for all their loving care; you are like ministering angels. A celebration of her life will be held in the spring of 2020.