Joan Crockett

JOAN CROCKETT (nee Beckham) passed away at age 95 after a short illness on December 6, 2014 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. She was the former wife of the late W. Gordon Crockett, an advertising sales representative for the Press-Enterprise in the 1960s and 1970s. Joan was Office Manager at the Riverside YMCA during the same period and then worked briefly for the Junior League. Born in London, England to Ernest Beckham and Hannah Downing, a WWI Canadian soldier and his English war-bride, she immigrated to Canada at the age of 6-months and grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia. Following high school, she and her parents returned to England just prior to WWII and were living in London during The Blitz. Joan joined the Women's Royal Naval Service as a WREN and trained as a teletype operator. She was granted a commission and stationed in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) where she decoded secret messages. After the war, she returned to Canada and married New Brunswick born Crockett. They had three sons and relocated the family to Riverside in the 1960s. After retiring, she lived for a period with her youngest son's family in San Diego, before moving closer to her oldest son in Laguna Woods (Leisure World), and finally moving to live with her middle son in Victoria. She is survived by her sons Ian Crockett (North/Ramona High), owner of Orange County based ICE Advertising, and his wife Maria, Douglas Crockett (Poly High), retired Senior Publicist at Paramount Pictures, Donald Crockett (Ramona High), San Diego Parks & Recreation District Manager, and his wife Toni (nee Castro, Poly High), and their extended families including six granddaughters and two great grandchildren. An amazing woman, a terrific mother, a life well-lived. She will be missed.