Julie Joy Waldrip

Julie Joy Waldrop peacefully passed away at her home May 8, 2023. She was born November 27, 1939 to Violet Douglas and Joe Evans. Her given name was Julie Joy Douglas but most of her life she went by Joy. Joy had two sisters, Robin (Douglas) Morgan and Dixie (LaFond) Brown.

Joy was the mother of three, Shawn (Christensen) Waldrop, Violet (Christensen, Waldrop) Durant and Bobbie-Jeanne Smith. She was preceded in death by Shawn, Bobbie and both her sisters. She is survived by her beloved partner, Phil Brown, daughter, Violet, son-in-law, Fred Durant, brother-in-law, Walter Morgan, several grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

She spent many years working in the restaurant industry, waitressing, bartending and managing several local establishments over the years. She left the restaurant industry to work for Department of Corrections. After a few years, she took an early retirement from that position to travel the country.

She met her life partner, Phil, almost 40 years ago. After Phil retired, they traveled the country in a motor home for several years. She chronicled their travels in a blog, entertaining many with her tales. Telling stories was one of her favorite things to do. She used this skill to write her mother’s biography that was published this year.

After traveling for several years, Joy and Phil returned to Shelton and decided to fulfill another dream by opening a small antique mall/auction house in town called Nana’s Attic. A few years later they decided to finally retire and enjoy time with friends and family.

A joint celebration of life for her and her daughter, Bobbie Smith, will be held at 3:00 pm, September 9th at her niece’s home in Olympia at 5410 66th Ave NW. All friends of Joy and Bobbie are welcome to join the celebration.