June 14, 1950 - April 1, 2024
Meredith was born the middle child of five to Ron King and Helen (Manery) King. She was a descendant of two influential pioneering families of the Okanagan-Similkameen. Her early childhood was spent in Kaleden, a child amidst a huge extended family and a loving and supportive community. To her it was an idyllic life which taught her independence, compassion and responsibility. In 1964, the family moved to Prince George where Meredith graduated from high school.
The 1970s were Meredith's adventurous years where she continued to develop her independent spirit. She travelled across Canada living in Vancouver, Sydney, Nova Scotia, Ottawa, Ontario and eventually England. She worked in a bank, built fiberglass boats, acted as a bookkeeper, a secretary and a statistician. Life was an adventure and she enjoyed it so much she swore she would never marry because life couldn't possibly be better than it was.
The 1980s brought two new adventures. She returned to Prince George and began her career as a Real Estate Agent. She had found her true vocation! She loved meeting new people and helping them out with their housing needs. But it was the second of these adventures which really changed her life. During a delay at the P.G. Airport she met a young man, Bill Joyner, and fell in love, hook, line and sinker, abruptly ending her resolve to remain single. They were married, appropriately enough, on December 26, 1980 - Boxing Day!!
In 1986, she and Bill moved to Yellowknife, NWT, where she managed a Real Estate office, sold Real Estate and with a partner, developed a 56 unit townhouse condominium project and a commercial building. Some of their best times were spent in the north. They loved the arty and cosmopolitan community and in 1991, as they both approached the ripe old age of 41, they added to the general population when, to their surprise, their daughter Manery was born.
In 1998, due to Bill's job redundancy, they were forced to leave the north. They moved to Airdrie, Alberta where Bill commuted to Calgary and Meredith found work in Airdrie in a grocery store, at CMHC in Calgary and as an ad rep for the local paper. In 2006 they made their last move to what would become their retirement home on the shores of Skaha Lake in Kaleden.
Meredith had come home!
Meredith loved meeting new people. Bill got used to her inviting complete strangers home for a meal, a short or long visit, and some of those have remained friends for a lifetime. Their home was always full of life, laughter and love.
Meredith was visionary!! She was always coming up with ideas to enhance people's lives, to provide services people needed and find ways to make people's lives easier. She started a seniors and kids program with the school, a medical equipment lending program and helped to establish and volunteered with the Kaleden HUB. She was a long time council member and trustee with the Kaleden Church. She was often frustrated with not having enough time, energy or money to accomplish all the things she wanted to do, but she remained ever the optimist.
She was a passionate supporter of Hope International Development and one of her personal highlights was travelling to Ethiopia and seeing one of the water systems that was built with funds she helped raise. She was also fascinated by the history of Kaleden and spent many of her final years helping to establish the museum and recording the lives, stories and records of the pioneers of Kaleden for all of us to read in Skaha Matters.
She died peacefully in the Penticton Regional Hospital on April 1, 2024 surrounded by her family. Meredith is survived by her husband, Bill and daughter Manery, siblings Doug (Viv), Elaine (Bill), Barb (Jon), Judith (Randy), sisters-in-law Sandy (Andy), Andrea (Keith), chosen daughter Cassy, chosen son Devon, a multitude of friends and a very large and very beloved extended family.
A celebration of Meredith's life will be announced at a later date. Please consider a donation to Hope International Development Agency at https//www.hope-international.com/ or a donation by cheque to the Kaleden Community Association (Kaleden Museum in the note line), Box 136, Kaleden, BC, V0H 1K0.