Joy Thompson

Joy Thompson, 91, of Estacada, Oregon, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, May 28, 2024, with her family by her side in her home, having been lovingly attended to in her last days by her children and family. 

Joy loved and honored her parents, siblings, and extended family. She focused on the individual," she  reminded us with her favorite expression: 'If can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all." Joy, by simply 'doing her best,' left an unforgettable legacy of love

Her life will be celebrated on June 29 at 24920 S Metzler Park Rd, Estacada, Oregon.

Joy Ann Curtiss was born on August 20, 1932, on the Curtiss Family Farm in Whiteford Township, Marshall County, 12 miles east of Middle River, Minnesota, to Glenn and Fanny (Morehouse) Curtiss.

While World War II raged, Joy and her two sisters, Gladys and Fern (The Curtiss Sisters), became the rage of the evening radio shows. Many evenings, Glenn Curtiss walked his girls down the street, their guitars in hand, to the radio station.

By 1947, Joy and her sisters were singing in the evenings, and by day, Joy was driving a tractor during the red potatoes harvest season on her grandfather's farm. And it was then and there that she met her future husband.

She married Omer Thompson on December 7, 1947, on the Thompson Farm in Spruce Valley Township, Marshall County, Minnesota, with family and friends attending.

In the summer of 1951, they moved to Chicago, Illinois; however, by the early fall, Omer loaded Joy's cedar-lined Hope Chest, filled with children's clothes and table linen, aboard the Great Northern Railroad's flagship, The Empire Builder, destined for Seattle, Washington her two young boys in tow. They settled in Spanaway, Washington. There, Omer drove a concrete truck while Joy raised meat rabbits.

In 1955, they moved to a two-story duplex next to Evergreen Park in Vancouver, Washington. Omer's cousin was working for San Jose Steel Fence Company, building chainlink fencing, and Omer also took a job there.

In 1960, Omer and Joy partnered with George and Winne Dahlenburg and started  Columbia Fence Company. Omer carried steel, and Joy carried the checkbook.

Over the next decade, Columbia Fence grew exponentially; they expanded and bought out Northwestern Fence Co. in Gresham, Oregon, and Quality Fence in Spokane, Washington.

Joy and Omer always dreamed of someday having a farm of their own. In 1972, they moved to five acres in Damascus, Oregon, before settling in Estacada in 1978, where they established O.J. Ranch. They raised livestock, winning the National Grand Champion Penzgauger bull and Best Get-of-Sire at the Oregon State Fair before Omer died in 1989.

She married Dennis Alford in 1993 in Albany, Oregon. They continued living in Estacada until Dennis died in 1995.  

Joy was a mom who loved her children and everyone else's children. She was a Clackamas County FFA and 4-H leader, hosted foreign exchange students, and cared for foster children. Most of all, she loved being a mom, a grandma, great-grandma, and great-great grandma.

Joy is survived by her sons, Gerald O. Thompson, Gary D. Thompson, and Donald G. Thompson; daughter, Joni D. Primmer; sisters, Fern (Curtiss) Ornquist, Linda (Curtiss) Gram, and Gloria (Curtiss) Barber; brother, Gordon Curtiss; 8 grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren, and five great-great-grandchildren.