July 10, 1931 - October 6, 2020
Joan passed away on October 6, 2020 from complications following a stroke in 2018. She was a unique individual, with a great wit, a love of good food and wine, and an appreciation of travel, music (especially jazz) and the arts. She was a strong supporter of Yukon artists, with a good representation of local painters in her extensive personal collection.
Although a lifetime resident of the BC Lower Mainland, many Yukoners will remember Joan as the office and logistics manager for Archer, Cathro & Associates - a well known Yukon mining exploration consulting firm.
For four to six months of every year between 1977 and 2002 Joan packed up and moved to Whitehorse. She was the book keeper for Archer Cathro as well as an ever-changing group of in-house publicly traded junior mining companies. In addition, she coordinated transportation of supplies, equipment and personnel between Whitehorse and field operations in Yukon, adjacent BC and NWT, working 12 to 16 hours a day, seven days a week.
She could seamlessly shift from an accounting ledger to helping unload a pick-up truck. Well into her 70's she was still throwing around 50 lb bags of rock and soil samples.
Joan's voice was known across Yukon and northern BC in the days of single side-band radio communication, as a go-to resource not only for AC crews but for anyone in need. She knew how to get things done quickly and efficiently, every day and especially when a crisis arose.
To many Yukoners, hundreds of AC employees, contractors, service providers and clients, Joan was the face of Archer Cathro and the Yukon exploration scene. She was humble, hard-working and honest. She was a truly remarkable woman and a dear friend to many in the north.