Joyce Marie Stillman (Libby) class of 1945

My Cousin Joyce

          by Paul Roney, class of 1953

My cousin Joyce was eight years older than me, so I did not know her well until we were both adults. Our paths crossed occasionally when the Libby’s came to Michigan to visit her parents and when my family traveled to Hampden on our way to Maine. It was on these occasions that I learned what a positive spirit and welcoming personality Joyce had. These qualities gave her a rich and rewarding life with family and friends. My cousin Joyce had her mother’s gift of storytelling and she graciously shared that talent with many, especially at Sturbridge Village where she volunteered for many years. What a treasure they received! I never heard Joyce complain, even in those years of daughter Carol’s fight with cancer and the years of Carl’s sickness and death. Her faith carried her through. For many years we corresponded by letter. Her letters were long as she updated me on her growing family. Many times she ended the letter and then thought of something she wanted to add so she wrote in the margins of the letter rather than getting a new sheet of paper. I had to turn the letter around several times to read the message. She was always frugal. In later years we would telephone each other every couple of months. I would always plan on at least an hour for our talk as we updated each other on our families. We would talk also about the past and I was always amazed at the fantastic memory she had of people and events. It was so wonderful for me to listen to those stories. She often said she enjoyed our “yaks” on the phone. Joyce had a loving relationship with my late wife, Margaret and shared her memories upon Margaret’s death. They were close to the same age and felt that kinship as well as their feelings about raising a family. When Bruce called me about her death, I had known that it was coming but when it happens it is sad. I will miss our chats and the friendship we had.

There is a poem that I found years ago the I want to share as it is so fitting for my cousin Joyce: God’s Garden God looked around His garden and found an empty space. He looked down upon the earth and saw your tired face. He put His arms around you and lifted you to rest. God’s garden must be beautiful for He only takes the best. He knew that you were weary and He knew you were in pain. He knew that you would never be well on earth again. He saw the road was getting rough and the hills were hard to climb, so He closed your weary eyelids and whispered “Peace be thine.”

Deceased Classmate: Joyce Marie Stillman (Libby)
Graduation Year: 1945
Obituary Link: Wilbraham Funeral Home
Date Of Birth: December-5-1927
Date Deceased: May-26-2022
Age at Death: 94
Cause of Death:
Classmate City: Okemos
Classmate State: MI
Classmate Country: USA
Was a Veteran: No
Survived By: Sons Bruce Libby (Janet) and Steven Libby (Jane Kearns)