Joyce Borinstein Steers

November 22, 1944 - November 25, 2024 Joyce Borinstein Steers passed away peacefully on November 25 at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, three days after celebrating her 80th birthday with family and friends.
A native of Detroit, Joyce moved to California and attended Beverly Hills High School, where she worked on the school newspaper. After earning degrees from the University of Arizona and UCLA, she became a special education teacher in the Los Angeles inner city. She actively volunteered with Santa Monica PTAs, played a key role in the district's music showcase, Stairway of the Stars, for eight years, and inspired young people with her work at the UCLA Ocean Discovery Center.
Joyce had an enduring passion for learning and developed many skills in her lifetime. She successfully ran her own handmade craft and specialty food business, became an expert at gardening, a gourmet cook, and a devoted Pilates practitioner for many decades. She was an avid reader and student of current affairs.
Above all, Joyce was dedicated to her family. For 50 years she created a loving, supportive family life for her husband Nick, son Benjamin, and daughter Julianne. She baked elaborate birthday cakes and figured out her own versions of holiday celebrations (honoring both her own and Nick's background), setting up Easter egg hunts with assigned colors for each child (so both got the same amount of candy). Family traditions arose: Desserts must be chocolate. Clothing, flowers, walls, cars, anything possible: Purple.
Joyce meticulously planned many trips. The family visited all seven continents, including remarkable journeys to Southern Africa, the Galapagos, Antarctica, and the Netherlands. She was an adventurer, an explorer; the world was her classroom. She designed each trip to see, do, and especially learn as much as possible. Relaxing around the hotel swimming pool was never an option.
Joyce will be remembered for her keen interest in people's lives and her positive approach to each day. This was never more apparent than during her three-year battle with cancer. With strength and grace, she agreed to countless treatments, took all the huge pills, endured each discomfort, and did every single thing her doctors told her to. She never gave up-she was smiling until the end.
She is predeceased by her sister, Anne Borinstein Weinstock, and survived by her husband Nick, son Benjamin, daughter Julianne, and brother Lloyd Borinstein. A celebration of Joyce's life will be held in her garden this summer. Donations can be made to the Angeles Clinic and Research Institute.