Here are the notes about Mom that I read at the Kirkland memorial service:

Joyce Casteen Anderson (1936 - 2023)

We're here today to celebrate the life of Joyce Casteen Anderson and say goodbye to her.

During her life, she was a wonderful daughter, sister, wife, mother, aunt, and grandmother.

The oldest daughter of Jack and Grace Casteen, she helped raise her three younger brothers - Doug, Bill, and Jim - as they grew up in Norfolk, Virginia, during the war.

She graduated from James Madison College with a degree in education and became a school teacher.

Soon after, she met and married George Anderson, a Naval officer, in Norfolk.

They moved to Boston, Massachusetts, and started a family with the arrival of myself and my brother, Jim.

In 1968, the family moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, and lived there for many years.

While in Raleigh, Mom was very active in the community. She went back to school at NC State. She became a Real Estate agent. She served on the NC Atomic Energy Commission. And, ultimately, she found her love of show dogs.

At the same time, she helped Jim and I complete our education and supported our pursuits of random teenage dreams - baseball, soccer, and rock music.

Starting with Sammy and Missy, two Yorkie rescues, Mom became an important breeder in the show dog community. She owned and bred Yorkshire Terriers, Lakeland Terriers, and Papillons. Her dogs competed in shows and Agility competitions throughout the country, winning numerous awards.

Mom and Dad traveled extensively in support of her dogs. They met hundreds of people during their travels.

After Jim and I moved away, Mom and Dad left Raleigh, moving first to St. Petersburg, Florida, and then to a cabin in the woods near Palestine, Texas. Dad said that Mom was happiest at their place in Palestine.

When her health started to decline, they decided to join my family here in the Pacific Northwest. They first moved to a downtown Kirkland apartment an amazing view of the sunsets over Lake Washington. Later, they moved to Aegis Living of Kirkland near Evergreen Hospital, where Mom passed away three weeks ago.

Joyce Casteen Anderson was a wonderful daughter, sister, wife, mother, aunt, and grandmother.

Goodbye, Mom - we will miss you.