An Angel Returns Home

Posted

Pasadena Remembers Joyce Clocker

Some people knew Joyce Clocker as an employer, and others knew her as a fellow church member, or else as a volunteer, or a philanthropist, or even as a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister or wife. But however people knew the matriarch of the Clocker family — owners and operators of Angel’s Food Market since the 1960s — they knew her to be a kind, giving person, and when she passed away on July 3, the Pasadena community said goodbye to somebody very special.

“We try our model ourselves after her; it made you proud, No. 1, that she was that way and looked up to in the community,” said Joyce’s son Walt, who took over the family business from his parents in 1990. “When she passed, the thing that came up over and over again is that nobody had a bad word to say about her. She never had a bad word to say about anyone else. Anytime someone would do her wrong, she would turn the other cheek, and she never harbored ill will. She was really remarkable in that respect.”

A Baltimore native, Joyce came to Pasadena with her husband, Tom, to run Angel’s Food Market, which, in 1960, was just a little country store. The Clockers quickly became active members of the community.

In 1964, Joyce helped found Galilee Lutheran Church as a charter member, and throughout the years that followed, she became actively involved with the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League (LWML).

“She was a really fun person to work with,” said Mary Poling, one of Joyce’s fellow volunteers with the LWML. “She had a lot of creative ideas, and she was a really hard worker.” As a friend of Joyce since the ‘70s, Poling witnessed Joyce’s inexhaustible volunteerism year in and year out, particularly during the annual fall bazaar, when Joyce would be there from 7:00am until late in the afternoon. “It was a long day, and she would still be there, even when she was getting older,” Poling said.

So dedicated was Joyce to her volunteer missions that Walt recalled he and his father used to lovingly admonish her for being the one to step up, and they would remind her that other people should be taking over. “But she loved doing it, and even when her health was not great toward the end, she did everything she could to keep helping,” Walt said.

Joyce brought her compassionate nature into her role as a business owner. “When Mrs. Joyce would visit the store, I would say she was always willing to lend her ear if you had something to discuss, either professionally or personally,” said Karen Gast, an Angel’s employee of 20 years. “I think I have more patience in dealing with people and trying to engage customers in conversations while I am waiting on them, which is something she would do.”

During her prime working years, Joyce was a daily fixture at the store, and even in the past 10 or 15 years, when she was “semi-retired,” she remained a “strong influence at the store,” in the words of Kim Ward, the store’s manager.

“She touched a lot of people’s lives through the employees we had here,” Walt said. “She was not your typical boss. She would get involved in their lives and become like a friend and family to many of them. She always went above and beyond for them.”

Renowned for her generosity, Joyce always found a way to donate to a person or organization in need, whether it was a scouting troop, a school group, a church, a youth sports team or a fire department. She would also make frequent donations to the food pantry at Galilee Lutheran.

It was not merely her kindness that made a difference but her steadfastness as well. When Angel’s was damaged by a fire in 1976, she kept people looking forward. “Anytime we had any doubts, like after the fire, about what we were going to do, Mom was the one who was a driving force behind things and kept people going,” Walt said.

Joyce is survived by a large family — husband Tom; sons Tom II, Andrew and Walt; 10 grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; sister Nancy Tando and brother Ronald Goodwin; and nephew Richard — as well as countless friends, all through whom her influence lives on. “Miss Joycie will always remain close to our hearts,” Ward said. “She was our confidant, our friend, a second mother. Miss Joycie always had a way of making you feel good about yourself and was there to lend her support in every way, no matter what concerns you may have had. … Her heart and compassion for all she did for everyone will remain strong in our hearts forever.”

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here