I promised I would tell her story and that’s what I’ve done
For Rick Karp writing the life story of his wife, Joy, has been a labour of love. In the days before she finally succumbed to her second bout with cancer, he made a solemn pledge to his b’shert (soulmate).
“I promised I would tell her story and that’s what I’ve done,” he said in a recent interview, echoing words from his recently-completed book, Creating Lasting Impact: The Amazing Life of Joy Esther Karp.
At the beginning of the book, and again near the end, he sums up the rationale for his commitment.
“We know that throughout history, there have been people among us who live their lives in the shadows, yet make amazing contributions to society. They innovate, they create, they bring to the rest of us their vision, and they provide us with the knowledge and skills for us to grow, to be successful, and to have meaning in our lives.
“As you will learn, Joy Esther Karp was one of those people.”
As Rick understands it, “Joy never thought of herself. She always thought of others and what she could do for them. She was quiet, unassuming, and observant, but determined to make a difference as long as she could.
As such, there were two distinct but separate sides to Joy; one was her physical and medical limitations and challenges that afflicted her throughout her life, but the second one was her incredible intellect, her ability to figure things out, to make things happen, and regardless of her other problems – to make a difference in people’s lives.”
Her physical limitations included an undiagnosed heart defect which only became obvious when she had a heart attack after giving birth to their twins. She had always felt that there was something wrong with her, but she grew up before there were the sorts of tests that would diagnose the problem.
Joy compensated for her physical limits by helping others and solving problems.
“When I met her she was 17,” Karp said, “and it was really quite unbelievable … when she invited me to go to events and people would come up to her and hug her and say thank you so much for helping me with this assignment or that assignment. And that’s how she compensated. She made a difference in people’s lives through elementary and high school and then she made a difference in my life as well.”
Rick Karp was without direction in his life when he met Joy. He had not done well in school and had no plan for his life. Joy inspired him and helped him to develop into the successful teacher and business leader he became.
During her life, Joy experienced a lot of trials. Her weak heart slowed her down and resulted in a couple of major operations. A serious car accident left her with longstanding issues, including a botched repair to one of her feet. She was kidnapped for ransom and held for 17 days in 1992. While she survived the horrific experience, she was left with a severe case of PTSD for the rest of her life.
Her many accomplishments include:
- developing the Hands on Business Training Program for McDonald’s
- being named employer of the year several times
- running the Whitehorse McDonald’s restaurant for 14 years
- running Hair Sensations for 14 years
- being instrumental in bringing the Special Olympics to Whitehorse
- arranging an outdoor play area for the Child Development Centre
- arranging for the first training computers for the Child Development Centre.
- arranging funding to make the Yukon Arts Centre wheel-chair accessible
- writing The Power of Service
- being valued as an inspirational public speaker.
Joy died of cancer in 2017 after a lengthy illness. Rick has a room in his home dedicated to her memory. “After everything settled down,” Rick wrote, “I made a picture room in the house with close to fifty pictures outlining the history of Joy, and at the center of the display is Joy, as she requested, in the urn, and I get to see her every day.”
