Joyce Unger

Joyce Unger

December 16, 1942 – December 3, 2016

Joyce Unger, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, friend, teacher, and mentor died peacefully at home surrounded by her family. For 13 years Joyce determinedly confronted three episodes of lymphoma, complicated by pulmonary fungal infections and ultimately non-small cell lung cancer which tragically ended her life. After each encounter, Joyce got up and enjoyed living her life to the fullest, including grand-parenting her three wonderful grandchildren.

Joyce was born to Caroline and Charles Brodsky in Newark, NJ. Carol and Charlie were early AFT Union organizers and activists. Joyce attended Newark Public Schools graduating from Weequahic High School where her father later was school principal. She moved to Philadelphia where she earned the BA with Honors from the University of Pennsylvania in 1964, and also met Richard who was her husband for 51 wonderful years. Joyce and Richard attended the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where Joyce received her MSSW degree and then went on to Berkeley in 1966 where she worked for several years in social work until earning her MPH degree from UC Berkeley in 1971. She then developed the first health education, referral and counseling program at Cabrillo College in Santa Cruz then moved to San Francisco and later Oakland. In 1974 she became Professor of Social Science at Skyline College, San Bruno where as a feminist who lived her words, she pioneered "Women in Transition" (a women's college re-entry program), built the Women's Studies Curriculum, and worked as campus organizer for the fledgling local of the American Federation of Teachers.

In retirement Joyce became a distance walker, walking her first full marathon at age 56 as a fund raiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Many marathons and half marathons followed with a group of devoted women friends, of all ages. Joyce was especially proud of a marathon she walked while receiving chemotherapy for lymphoma. Voracious reading, travel, engaged time with friends, listening to primarily baroque classical music, and working counted cross-stitch patterns including her own designs helped round out her time.
Joyce was an ardent supporter of the End of Life Option Act. She made multiple trips to Sacramento with Compassion and Choices to advocate for this ultimately successful legislation.
An avid camper since childhood, Joyce and her family back packed, traveled and camped throughout the United States and Canada. An adventurous woman, after her first cancer diagnosis she traveled to French Polynesia, Hawaii, France, Italy and England. Prior travel included New Zealand, Latin America, Northern and Maritime Canada, and rafting and canoeing trips in the Grand Canyon, Idaho, Montana, above the Arctic Circle and many others. The month before her death, she took a final trip with her entire immediate family to Hawaii.

Joyce wished to be remembered as determined, thorny, intelligent, funny, and intolerant of pretension. She had a fast and warm smile, and a delightfully wicked sense of humor. She leaves her husband Richard Unger,Ph.D.,M.D., son Zachary Unger, better than a daughter-daughter-in-law Shona Armstrong, and grandchildren Perseverance Unger, Maccabee Armstrong, and Ezekiel Armstrong. Farewell to many friends, especially women friends younger and older, and brothers and sisters-in-law, and extended family.

A special thanks to the health care team at Stanford, and to the devoted nursing staff of the ATIC and ITA.

A memorial service and life celebration will be held on February 19, 2017. Please contact Joyce's family for detailed information.