Joyce Harriet (Hyman) Smith

A short video of Joyce’s life is available at:
https://vimeo.com/1165476504

Joyce Smith passed away peacefully after a brief illness at the age of 91. She was born on a farm in upstate New York, the third of the five children of Harriet and George Hyman. Her family moved to the town of Walworth after World War II. Joyce appreciated living in Walworth with its greater opportunities for friends, shops, and the ice cream parlor, all things she enjoyed her entire life. She graduated from Walworth High School in 1953 and met her husband, Dave Smith, later that summer on what turned out to be a blind date. They were married the next year and moved to Cooperstown. By 1960 they had 3 children (Bruce, Bethany and Paul.) Dave’s job moved them to Oklahoma City in 1963: both were active there in the local Elks Lodge. Joyce returned to the outside workforce when her youngest entered high school. Dave’s employment took them to Maryland in 1978, where Joyce worked as a realtor. Upon her husband’s death in 1989, Joyce moved to San Jose, California to be closer to two of her three children and her grandchildren. She retired from Bell Microsystems in 2004 and moved back to upstate New York to be closer to her family and friends of her youth. She quickly realized that New York winters are more fun when you are young, and moved to Kenneth City, Florida. Her youngest son, Paul, lived close by and was a companion and comfort in her final years.

Joyce is survived by her two younger siblings, Nancy (and Bill) Kress, and Glenn Hyman; her three children, Bruce (and Lisa), Bethany, and Paul; her three granddaughters, Koree (and Andre) Smith-Tyree, Lynzee Smith (and Stephan Hale), and Cassandra Smith; and her great grandchildren, Jacob Muniz, Nederiah Hale, Brennon Hale, and Victoria Tyree. She made friends wherever she lived and touched many people through the years.

Joyce loved music, both listening and performing. She sang and played the piano throughout her life. She requested that any expressions of sympathy be a donation to the music fund at either the Walworth Second Baptist Church, 3689 Main Street, or the United Methodist Church of Walworth, 3679 Main Street, both of which are in Walworth, NY 14568. Please do not send flowers or plant trees.

She requested no funeral or memorial service, and that her ashes be scattered in the Gulf of Mexico near her Florida home.