Joyce, who was known as
“Joy” to her loving husband, “Joyce” to her brother and three sisters, “Mother”
to her four children, “NaNa” to her daughter in law, two sons in law, her 5
grandchildren, and six 6 great grandchildren and “Aunt Joyce” to her extended
beach house family who are too numerous to count, passed away peacefully on
December 23 at the age of 97.
Joyce was born on
September 24, 1928 in Palmetto, Fl. She
was proud of the fact that she was not only a Florida native but that she lived
the great majority of her life in Manatee County. She was a 1946 graduate of Palmetto High
School, where she and her future husband (Howard) were honored as having the
“Best Personalities” by their fellow classmates. Joyce received the additional honor of being
voted the female with the “best figure”!
Needless to say, it was a different day and age back then
After graduating from
Palmetto, she attended college in Tallahassee.
She had the distinction of being a student at Florida State College for
Women in its final year. As well as
being there the first year males were allowed and the name was changed to
Florida State University. She was a huge
football fan and of course her favorite team was the Seminoles. Much to the
chagrin of those family members who are fans of the orange and blue, she and
her sisters would proudly show up at Christmas with matching FSU dresses every
year after they would beat their arch rival, the Florida Gators.
Joyce and Howard were
married on April 3, 1949 at First Presbyterian Church, Palmetto, Fl. They enjoyed close to 49 years together,
moving to Holmes Beach in 1987. The
priorities in Joyce and Howard’s lives were their family and their faith. They cherished their time together, and the
more family that showed up the merrier.
As more and more people arrived, she had the ability to calmly and
magically transform what was supposed to be a delicious meal for a few into
serving a delicious meal to the masses.
Her delectable cream pies would
often create anxiety at family gatherings as people realized the demand far
exceeded what was available no matter how many she had lovingly prepared.
In addition to her skills
in the kitchen, she had many other talents.
She was an amazing seamstress who once transformed a winter wedding
dress for one daughter into a summer wedding
dress for another daughter. Two
weddings, one dress and a lesson in frugality passed along!
Her love for children
spread far beyond her family. She
volunteered at numerous vacation bible schools, served regularly in the church
nursery, mentored girls youth groups and taught reading for a few years to
elementary school children.
For as kind and loving as
she was, she could also be a shark! Just
break out a deck of Rook Cards and she would turn into a savage beast. Quickly and without mercy devouring her
opponents who were usually younger, unsuspecting family members, who until that
moment only knew her as sweet, kind “Aunt Joyce”. She was such a skilled player that she had
her name engraved numerous times on the annual Beachhouse Rook Tournament
trophy.
In her later years after
Howard passed away in March, 1998 she continued to enjoy living on the
island. She especially loved the annual
summer beachhouse gatherings that her family has had as a tradition for close to
100 years. Additionally, she loved
watching the sunsets and would always comment after sundown, “when the sun
goes, the people go”.
While the sun has set on
Joyce’s time here on earth, we take comfort in knowing that she has been
reunited with her husband and those other family members who went before
her. Her life was 97 years filled with
spreading love, kindness and as her name implies “Joy” to so many. Her Happy Birthday song wishes and singing of
jingle bells were legendary. It’s a
legacy that will live on for generations!
For the last several years
Joyce was a resident of the Villas of Hollybrook/Reflections in Bradenton. The family would like to thank all the
wonderful staff both there and at Tidewell Hospice-Lakewood Ranch for the loving
care and support that they showed Joyce.
Your kindness will always be remembered.
A graveside service was
held on December 26.
