Joyce A.L. Blasco (née Sorgard)

Joyce Blasco passed away on October 12, 2026, at the age of 91.

Born in Lethbridge to Steve Sorgard and Hilder Holthe, Joyce was the younger of two children, joining her older brother, Elton. She grew up on the family farm in Iron Springs, where she began her schooling, and she loved to share stories of the German prisoners of war who worked their fields during the Second World War. After the war, the farm was sold and the family moved to Taber, where Joyce finished high school. She then moved to Lethbridge to attend business college and began her career as a legal secretary at a local law firm.

Her life took its biggest turn when she met and married Richard Blasco, beginning a marriage that would last 73 years. Trading the office for home life as a wife and mother to two boys, David and Derrick, was a big change, and one she embraced. Once the boys were in school, she returned to work as a bookkeeper for a furniture store. She later became office manager of the growing family business, a role she held for the rest of her working life. In her free time, Joyce loved to travel and especially treasured her winters in California.

Joyce was beautiful inside and out. She was always well dressed, never afraid of hard work, and rarely seen without a smile. Richard’s grandmother perhaps said it best: “She brought love into our family.”

Joyce will be dearly missed by her husband, Richard; her son Derrick (Gerry); her grandchildren Heather, Bradley, Stephen (Kelsey), Ryan and Matthew; and her great-grandchildren Rylen, Ryder, Gage, Gaven and Harper.

She was predeceased by her son David and his wife, Edie; her parents, Steve and Hilder Sorgard; and her brother, Elton.

A funeral service will be held on Saturday, October 17, 2026, at 1:30 p.m. at Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church (2405 12 Avenue South, Lethbridge, AB.) A private family interment will take place and reception to follow at Christensen Salmon Generations Funeral Home (703-13 St N, Lethbridge)

A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Joyce’s memory to Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church in support of the St. Patrick’s Church renovation project would be greatly appreciated.