SAMSONVILLE: A long-time advocate for the rights of veterans and their widows has passed away.
Following a battle with cancer, Samsonville resident Joyce Carter passed away on January 21. The Grimsby, England native came to Canada as a war bride following her marriage to Murdock “Dick” Carter on November 10, 1945. In recent years, she advocated for war brides to receive the Veterans Independence Program.
Charlie Williamson, Sgt. at Arms with Royal Canadian Legion Branch 47, knew Carter through the legion and described her as very caring, the sort of person who cares more about others than herself.
“They had a ward bride reunion in Samsonville one year and she was there,” Williamson, whose mother was also a war bride, remembered of meeting Carter. “She was such an advocate for veterans, that they should be getting more than what they ever got, and she was relentlessly writing letters to the Prime Minister of Canada, by hand. I don’t know how many letters you could say she wrote the Prime Minister himself.”
Williamson said it will be hard to find anyone who will advocate for veterans as well or as long as Carter.
“She donated her body to science,” said Williamson. “So there’s another aspect of her always thinking about others and not herself. She had a hard, rough life. She was just a terrific person.”
Cape Breton-Canso MP Rodger Cuzner recalled Carter’s work for veterans, noting the pair stayed in contact on a somewhat regular basis for some time.
“We had a great relationship,” said Cuzner of his time with Carter. “I always had a tremendous amount of respect for what she did on behalf of veterans. With regard to the Veterans Independence Program, she was receiving befits from that but those that had been excluded, she continued to work and advocate on their behalf.”
Cuzner was with Carter when she went to Ottawa in 2007. He said the Liberals brought her to meet with Greg Thompson, who at the time served as Minister of Veterans Affairs.
“We had organized that meeting so we went in, she presented her case with Greg, and Greg arranged for her to meet with the Prime Minister, Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the time,” said Cuzner, noting Harper agreed to the meeting but only without Cuzner present. “In typical Joyce fashion, she said ‘well if I can’t take Rodger with me then I’m not going.’ She was going to refuse to meet with the Prime Minister.”
After some convincing, Carter met with Harper and didn’t hold back.
“Anybody that knew Joyce knew that she was gracious and respectful but she absolutely believed that the country had an obligation to our veterans and anything less than fulfilling that obligation [meant] we were failing our veterans,” he said. “She was a great lady.”