Joyce Mason

It is with heartfelt sadness that Joyce (Berger) Mason’s family has to share the news of her passing at the age of 82. She died on October 18, 2026, which would have been the 59th wedding anniversary to her beloved late husband Brian. She was a devoted wife to that grade 4 boyfriend and they enjoyed 56 years of marriage before Brian’s death in 2023 that left her grief stricken. She continued to cherish their son “Buddy” John Mason and their daughter Janice (Lloyd) Walton. She felt very fortunate to have four grandchildren-Buddy’s twins Callie and Albert (18) and Janice and Lloyd’s children Madison (15) and Cooper (13). In Hamilton, Ontario she leaves behind her devastated sister Catherine (Ray)Pearson, her brother-in-law Charles Mason and her best friend Bill Leslie. She is predeceased by her parents Marjorie (Crane) and John Berger and her brother Buddy. Joyce will be greatly missed by cherished friends and beloved family, including Rita Lawrence and family.

Most of Joyce’s working life was in Hamilton. She was a hairdresser, security at Tower’s department store and secretary at Parkway Towing and Poole’s Cycle Harley Davidson.

Joyce was well known for her love of Harley Davidson motorcycling and sports- mainly football (Denver Broncos), hockey (Montreal Canadians) and baseball (Toronto Blue Jays). She enjoyed life in the flat track motorcycle racing scene, camping and fishing. Happiness also came from her love of live music and supporting Brian’s music career. Later she got great pleasure from her grandchildren and travelling.

Joyce did not wish to have a service or celebration of life, but rather to celebrate once she was with Brian again.

By choice, donations would be appreciated by Calvin United Church in New Waterford, Cape Breton Nova Scotia.

Joyce's Life Story

Joyce grew up in the small town of New Waterford in Cape Breton. She acquired her passion for motorcycling from her father Johnny Berger – the mechanic people brought their Harley Davidsons, “Jap Scrap”, lawnmowers and anything else that needed to be fixed. She rode Harleys from a young age until she lost the strength in her wrists as an adult. She then had to resort to being Brian’s passenger on HER bikes. She went to hairdressing school and teachers’ college before her and Brian married in 1967 and moved to Hamilton, Ontario. Her Harley Davidison connection with her father led her to Poole’s Cycle where they eventually worked and formed life long friendships with Percy Poole, Bill and Jim Leslie, Doug and Dave Sehl and Bill and Jan Peer to name a few. They continued their childhood family friendships with Havey and Gail Timmons and Burns and Shirley Rockwell. They were close friends with Bob and Shirley Cairns and made lots of memories with her sister “Kak” and her husband Ray. Brian started a music career with the encouragement of their friends Ray and Ginger Power. Brian never went on stage without Joyce as they rarely spent time apart.

Joyce was well known for her love of sports and grew up in a family of hockey fans and chose Montreal Canadians as her team. She was a football fanatic and cheered for the Denver Broncos, and her baseball team was the Toronto Blue Jays.

Joyce was spontaneous and would often have the family packed and ready to go to races or camping and fishing before Brian came home from work. They made regular trips to Cape Breton to visit family and their friends including musicians Billy and Bobby Lewis, George Cadden and Ray Power, always spending nights on the road with their family “the rich Lawrence’s” in New Brunswick.

In 1984 they moved the family to Newfoundland to manage a Tim Horton’s store and then returned to Cape Breton and built and ran a convenience store until they moved back to Hamilton in 1990. Joyce and Brian both worked at Poole’s until Joyce’s health kept her from working.

In 2004 they moved back to Cape Breton to retire in Baddeck and enjoyed years of freedom and fun. They had many friends in motorcycling (Bobby and Linda Macdonald), music (Sadie, Sharon and McGee MacFarlane and Aaron C Lewis) and family (David, Debbie and Anne Fraser and her family). They made regular social hairdressing visits with Sandra and Sandi Jury and her husband Ronnie MacDonald in New Victoria. They did a lot of travelling, especially to New Brunswick and Maryland USA to visit their children and their growing grandchildren.

In 2020, with their declining health, they moved to Avondale New Brunswick to live with Janice, Lloyd, Madison and Cooper to make life easier. They missed their Cape Breton home but were happy to be with family and were grateful for the help they were given. When Brian died in 2023, most of Joyce died with him. She suffered with worsening migraines and Chron’s disease that affected her quality of life. She managed to go to lunch with her friends Rita, Cynthia, Mavis, Joanne, Donna and Marsha on occasion. Buddy moved to New Brunswick after living in the USA for thirty years and she got to enjoy his company for her last two years- watching sports and movies. She kept in regular contact with Bill Leslie, Rick Burt and David Fraser. She spoke to her sister at least every night and will be greatly missed by all.