Joyce and Bill Dunning Bursary in Social Work
The decision to make a bequest to the University of Victoria was made in 2001 by Joyce and Bill Dunning to acknowledge Joyce’s dedication to, and love of, her career in Social Work. As in life, she wanted to help others achieve their goals.
Joyce Mable Craig was born in Edmonton, Alberta, on August 9, 1916. Her interest in Social Work was probably passed on to her by her father who, as Deputy Minister of Agriculture in the Alberta government, also took on many lead roles as a volunteer. Among other things, he was the President of the Council of Social Agencies in Edmonton.
Joyce attended both the University of Alberta and the University of British Columbia, from which she graduated in 1938. She was a member of the Beta Theta Chapter of the Alpha Phi Sorority Club.
Joyce began her career at the Royal Jubilee Hospital in the Venereal Disease Clinic and lectured to students about her experiences. Following a move to Ottawa, she worked in the Community Chest in the Adoption Department and on the Social Planning Council.
While in Ottawa, Joyce helped developed the first Volunteer Bureau and later went on to become the Director. She shared her talents by assisting other cities in Ontario, including Hamilton, to establish their own Volunteer Bureaus.
Joyce’s greatest saying was “everything in moderation”.
Reginald William Leathley Dunning was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, on June 14, 1912. While serving in the army during WW II, he married Joyce in Edmonton in 1942. After the war, Bill starting working for Air Canada (then TCA) and they had three children. In 1955, the family moved to Ottawa, where Bill continued with the airline for another 19 years.
Through his work, Bill had access to travel for their entire married life. He and Joyce travelled extensively throughout the world. There were few destinations left to be discovered during their 59 years together.
When they retired in 1974, they decided to return to the west and found a small part of paradise on an acreage on the Saanich Peninsula, where they enjoyed country living for 27 years.
In retirement, Joyce loved to be by Bill’s side in the beautiful garden they developed. One of her main jobs was keeping the weeds at bay, but what really kept her busy was preserving and cooking all the lovely produce that came from the garden!