Joyce Harris Milne

1926 - 2025

Joyce Harris Milne

Wilder, VT - Joyce embarked on a new adventure during the early morning hours of New Year's Day 2025. She had looked forward to celebrating her 99th birthday on January 12th. She did welcome in the New Year. Joyce was fearless and strong until the very end. She was a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and dear friend. Held lovingly in the arms of her devoted husband, David, she departed on her journey from the home she loved in Wilder, Vermont.

The only child of Lee Roy Harris and Helen Reeve Harris, Joyce was welcomed into the world at the Frankfort Hospital in Philadelphia by her paternal uncle, Frank Harris, M.D., on January 12, 1926. On Joyce's third birthday, her father died unexpectedly as he made his way up the front path to the porch where Joyce was waiting to greet him. His death affected Joyce her entire life.

Joyce's mother remarried on August 3, 1935. Bernard Joseph Barbieri widened Joyce's love of art, travel, books and antiques. The birth of Sarah in 1939 and Joseph in 1941 brought long-sought siblings into Joyce's life. Her grandmother, Sophie Katherine Reeve, her great aunt Sarah Kramer Shaw and her uncle, Howard Nelson Reeve, provided loving care and support during her formative years.

Joyce had a lifelong love of education, both formal and informal. She pursued her academic studies at Harcum College in Bryn Mawr, the Levitan School of Business in Philadelphia, the Institute de Touraine, Universite of Poitiers, in Tours, France, the Alliance Francaise in Paris and Wellesley College. She audited courses at Dartmouth College and enrolled in courses offered by ILEAD/Osher at Dartmouth. She greatly enjoyed reading. Several books were always beside her chair. Her strong belief in the value of education was a motivating force in the decision by her husband, David, and her to provide the land and building for The David and Joyce Milne Public Library in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Joyce served as Personal Assistant to the Director of Development at Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts. She taught French and English as a Second Language at The Bement School in Deerfield, Massachusetts, The Garland School in Chester, New Jersey and The HighCroft School in Williamstown, Massachusetts, which she and her husband co-founded. Joyce loved her adopted greyhounds and her Japanese Chins, Winston Churchill and Jenny Jerome.

From an early age, Joyce was determined to explore the world beyond Philadelphia. During her years in New York City, Joyce worked for the Harry Conover Modeling Agency. While living in Greenwich, Connecticut, she worked for the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. Joyce's love of travel took her to Europe for several years. She was employed by D. Roditi and Sons while living in Paris. Upon her return to the United States, Joyce served during the Eisenhower Administration as Personal Secretary to J. Ernest Wilkins, Under Secretary of Labor and his assistant, Thomas R. Lane, in the United States Department of Labor in Washington, DC. While living in San Francisco, Joyce worked for Crown Zellerbach.

Joyce served as a member of the faculty of The Bement School in Old Deerfield, Massachusetts, where she met and married David Wilson Milne.

David and Joyce purchased the former George Alfred Cluett estate from the Trustees of Williams College and founded The HighCroft School, a small, college-preparatory boarding school for students in grades seven to twelve.

Retirement years were spent in New London, Lyme, Grantham and Hanover, New Hampshire and Wilder, Vermont. Joyce was a volunteer at The Montshire Museum's Magic Carpet program, and she was a member of the International Women's Club and the Hanover Garden Club. She was a member of the Bartlett Tower Society at Dartmouth College and Friends of the Dartmouth Library. Joyce enjoyed the many cultural opportunities offered in the Upper Valley.

In addition to her husband, Joyce is survived by her sons, A. Blake Gardner, III of Westminster, Vermont, and Toby Reeve Milne of North Clarendon, Vermont, a grandson, Gregory Wilson Gardner, her sister, Sarah B. Jolliffe and brother Joseph Barbieri both of Cambridge, Massachusetts, nephews and nieces and dear friends Fritz and Alexandra Eckhardt of North Bennington, Vermont.

There will be no calling hours. Services will be private. A memorial service will be held in May. Cremation was in a simple pine casket hand crafted by Michael Whitman of Lyme, New Hampshire. Burial will be in the family plot in Pine Knoll cemetery in Hanover, New Hampshire. Knight Funeral Home was entrusted with arrangements. Condolences may be expressed in an online guestbook found at www.knightfuneralhomes.com