Joy Adrienne (Shaw) Colville

Joy Adrienne Colville, 89, Woodbury, MN, passed away Monday, March 31, 2025, at her home in Woodbury. Visitation will be Tuesday, April 8, 2025, at the O’Halloran & Murphy Funeral Home in Woodbury at 10:00 a.m., followed by service at 11:00 a.m., with lunch immediately thereafter. Interment will be at 1:30 p.m. that afternoon in the Calvary Cemetery in St. Paul.

Joy was born on June 6th, 1935, in St. Paul, MN to Delbert and Laura (Haggenmiller) Shaw. She graduated from St. Josephs Academy in St. Paul in 1953.

After High School, Joy attended the University of Minnesota and became a legal secretary for a St. Paul law firm. She purchased a horse ranch in rural Woodbury where she owned and rode Appaloosa horses, participating in and winning many riding competitions at the state level. Having a very close family, she moved to Phoenix Arizona in 1979 at the same time as her brother’s family and mother. She met and married husband Richard (Dick) in Phoenix in 1990, continued her secretarial work until retiring in 2002. Pulling up roots once again she moved to Bloomer, WI in 2004 then coming back full circle to Woodbury, MN in 2016.

Joy was an active philanthropist donating to many organizations. She was also a devoted member of St. Ambrose Church in Woodbury.

Joy enjoyed socializing with friends and family and made every holiday special. She particularly loved the Christmas holiday season and buying flannel shirts for her nephews every year until duplicate patterns were unavoidable.

She enjoyed traveling early on in life. Fresh out of high school she travelled by train with her best friend to Glacier National Park for employment; there, she became a chambermaid at a popular, now historic lodge where attendance by movie and other stars gave her many good stories to tell. She ultimately became a world traveler. If not for the countless photographs she took over the course of her life, her family would have few images to recall and reminisce over.

Joy is survived by her sister-in-law Marlys Shaw, nephews and niece Steve, Dan, Mark (wife Dawn), Timothy, and Vicki (Shaw) Aby (husband Ceb).

Joy was preceded in death by husband Richard, mother Laura Chadwell, father Delbert Shaw, stepfather Harvey Chadwell, brother George Shaw, sisters Patricia (Chadwell) Zimmerman and Carolyn Coby.

A special thank you is extended to the St. Croix Hospice staff for their wonderful care.

In lieu of flowers the family prefers memorials be sent to St Croix Hospice.

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