Joy Gaynell Glover was born in Spokane, Washington on February 5, 1945, to Floyd and Bea Underwood.
Joy spent her childhood growing up in Davenport, Washington. She grew up a lake girl and loved spending her summers swimming and water skiing on Loon Lake. Joy was the youngest child by 10 and 12 years to her brothers and was the only girl. She was their true "Joy" aptly named and was spoiled by the whole family. She was very involved in her school and community growing up and graduated Davenport High as the valedictorian.
Joy attended Washington State University where she was a Pi Beta Phi and stayed close with many of her sorority sisters for the past 60 years, including her best friend, Cris Kollmeyer. Her favorite part of being a Coug was that she met her husband, and love of her life, Jack. They always loved their connection to WSU and maintained close relationships with Jack's Sigma Nu brothers and their families and considered many of them family.
After they married in 1967, they lived in the Tri-Cities, primarily Richland. Joy was an elementary school teacher and then took time off from her career to raise her 3 children. She was the ultimate volunteer, always jumping in to help in all their clubs, activities and teams such as PTO, Boy Scouts, Girls Scouts, team Mom, Class Mom and many more. As a mom, she took care of all their needs, so they never had to worry. When the kids were grown, she went back to teaching 1st grade at Jefferson Elementary School to finish her career.
Some of her most treasured moments were as a grandma, this is where she really shined. She loved to dote on and brag about all her grandkids and tried to be at as many events as she could. She loved reading to them and teaching them new things. She also volunteered in their classes when they were younger.
She was very involved in her church (Meadow Springs Presbyterian) and served on many committees and was a member in the choir. Joy was in a tight knit Bible Study group for many years, and they nicknamed it the "BS" group, part bible study and part BS! She was an active member of PEO (Philanthropic Education Organization) and was also a member of the ladies 9-hole group at Meadow Springs Country Club. All these groups led to her having a large friend circle after retirement. She loved spending time with her friends having fun, talking, laughing, and serving the community.
Jack and Joy spent their summers at Lake Chelan and loved sharing their place with family and friends over the years (Joy was still a lake girl at heart). Jack and Joy were able to snowbird in both Arizona and southern California for several years, until they decided they were missing too many grandkid activities. They were able to travel together and have fun adventures in Europe, China, Mexico, Alaska, Hawaii, East coast, and lots of Cougar and Vandal football games. Joy could always be heard at the Cougar games singing the WSU alma mater song with pride.
Joy was preceded in death by her parents Beatrice and Floyd Underwood, and brothers Bert Underwood and Roger Underwood. Joy is survived by her loving husband of 57+ years John (Jack) Glover, son Kevin Glover, son Jason (Jen) Glover, and daughter Janet (Mark) Schuster, her 5 grandchildren Jack (Morgan) Schuster, Stella Glover, Jacob Schuster, Levi Glover, Max Schuster, and her nephews and niece.
Joy will be remembered for her warm kind heart, generosity, wonderful smile and laugh, and love of family and friends. She knew no strangers and was always welcoming and inviting to all. She left a legacy of kindness, friendship, and helping out anybody that needed it. She will be dearly missed by all who were fortunate to know her. Services will be held on March 1st at Meadow Springs Presbyterian Church at 1:00 p.m., 325 Silver Meadows Dr, Richland, WA, United States, 99352.
In lieu of flowers please make donations to Alzheimer's Research. The family requests that memorial gifts be made in support of the Memory and Brain Wellness Center Fund at UW Medicine. Checks should be made payable to the "UW Foundation" and mailed to: UW Medicine Advancement, Attn.: Gift Processing, Box 358045, Seattle, WA 981958045. Please indicate that the gift is in memory of Joy Glover. Or you may make a gift online.
https://give.uwmedicine.org/give/?source=FND-126899.
Published by Tri-City Herald from Feb. 3 to Feb. 5, 2025.