Joan Scofield
Dec. 12, 1929 – Sept. 3, 2026
Joan Allyn (Trout) Scofield, 96, of Sweet Home, died Sept. 3, 2026, at her home.
Joan was born December 12, 1929, in Burbank, Calif., to Allan Edward Trout and Audrey Marie Davis Trout. Born just two months after the stock market crash of 1929, she grew up during the Great Depression in a family that moved frequently between California and Oregon. By the time she was 43, Joan could count more than 40 addresses she had called home.
Those many moves helped make Joan resourceful, observant and fiercely practical. As a girl she learned to garden, milk cows, raise rabbits, pick berries, sew, use tools and help with farm chores. She inherited much of her father’s mechanical ability and was never afraid of a hammer, saw or practical problem that needed solving.
Faith became the central thread running through Joan’s life. As a teenager at church camp in 1946, she listened to a missionary who had served in the Congo and decided she wanted someday to become a missionary herself.
While attending Willamette University, she became involved in InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and later identified Oct. 28, 1948, as the date of her spiritual “second birth,” embracing the promise of Eph. 2:8-9 that salvation is God’s gift of grace.
Joan attended Willamette University in Salem before transferring to Northwestern Schools in Minneapolis, where she studied liberal arts and graduated third in her class in 1951. It was there that she first learned about Wycliffe Bible Translators. She was immediately attracted to the idea of helping people read Scripture in a language they could understand.
In December 1951, Joan married Richard Scofield. Together they became parents to six children: Keith, Kenneth, David, Meredith, Douglas and Stuart. The family lived for a number of years in Southern California, including more than a decade in Sylmar.
Oregon, however, always felt like home to Joan. In 1971 the family found 47 acres northwest of Sweet Home. They eventually moved there, and in 1973 Joan and her father undertook much of the work of building the house Joan had designed. The property became a working farm, complete with sheep, fruit trees and the endless chores Joan generally met with characteristic determination.
Joan began working for The New Era in Sweet Home in 1977 as a proofreader. When the newspaper needed a typesetter, she persuaded publisher Dave Cooper to give her a chance. She proved herself quickly and spent years doing work she loved. Her accuracy, command of language and remarkable typing speed became trademarks of her working life.
The missionary dream planted in Joan’s heart as a teenager was not forgotten. In 1979, Joan and her 16-year-old son Stuart traveled to Colombia as volunteer Guest Helpers with Wycliffe Bible Translators. That first experience opened the door to years of service. Joan eventually worked with Wycliffe in Colombia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Australia, Peru and the United States, using her skills in typing, typesetting, printing and computers to support Bible translation.
Joan never viewed herself as the glamorous kind of missionary. She simply recognized that the skill God had placed in her hands was a keyboard. She helped prepare newsletters, books and Scripture portions for publication, including portions of the Bible in indigenous languages. She believed deeply that every person had something useful to offer in God’s service and that those working behind the scenes were every bit as much a part of the mission as those standing in front.
Looking back on those years, Joan wrote simply, “My dream was at last fulfilled.”
After retiring in 1997, Joan continued serving her community. She delivered Meals on Wheels in Sweet Home for more than 20 years and returned to The New Era, where she volunteered as a proofreader for some 20 years. Remarkably, at age 96, shortly before her death, she was still proofreading the newspaper weekly before it went to press.
Joan was also a storyteller. In her later years she preserved her memories in “Gramma’s Young Years” (available on Amazon) and the soon to be released “Gallivantin’ Granny: Adventures While Serving God.”
She wrote with candor, humor and curiosity about the Depression, family life, faith, farming, travel, missionary work and the many experiences of a life that seldom followed a conventional path.
Joan took particular pride in her family. She is survived by her children and their spouses: Keith (Debbie), Kenneth (Suellen), David (Wanda), Meredith, Douglas (Diana), and Stuart (Kathy); her brother, Dana, of California; 24 grandchildren; 50 great-grandchildren; two great-great-grandchildren; and many extended family members and friends.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Richard, her sister, Betty Klynn, and her parents, Allan and Audrey Trout).
A casual celebration of life gathering will be held Saturday, Sept. 19, from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. at Sweet Home Senior Center, 880 18th Ave. Food will be provided.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial gifts to non-profit organizations like Wycliffe Bible Translators / Meals on Wheels / SHEM / Sweet Home Friends of the Library.
Joan’s life was marked by curiosity, persistence, faith and a conviction that usefulness does not require prominence. Whether proofreading a newspaper in Sweet Home, caring for a farm, raising six children, delivering meals to neighbors or typing Scripture on the other side of the world, she tried to use what was in her hands to serve others and her Lord.
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