Joyce Dupont Herron

Sunshine to Roscoe, her adoring husband for over sixty years. Mom to Scott, Marc (Katrina), and Joy (Max). Grandma to Ross, Marc, Lili, Henry, James, Marina, and Savannah. Sister to Bud and Francis. Aunt to Steven, Marci, Judith, Paul, and Joan.

Joyce grew up in Ypsilanti during the Depression and World War II. Blessed with a deep and enduring love of music she studied piano and voice. She shared her artistic gifts in the community, at church, and on radio. She attended Roosevelt High School and earned a degree in music education from Michigan Normal College (EMU).

Eager to assert her independence, she worked in the bustling, post-war environs of Ypsi first at Kaiser Frazer automobile company and later at Ford Motor Company. During her Ford years she learned to golf and bowl and lead a Junior Achievement team sponsored by the company. It was there she met Ross when he called on her boss. They started a family in east Detroit and moved to the suburbs in the 70s.

Joyce adored her family and created "home" through her many talents. She had a creative and inventive mind. She enjoyed entertaining in the home whether that be for family events or bridge parties with friends. She loved to craft, sew, knit, quilt, and bake. Among the many things she sewed for herself and her kids were everyday outfits, theater costumes, and skating dresses (beads & sequins included!). She nurtured her passion for the arts by singing in the church choir and performing Gilbert & Sullivan operettas with the St. Bede Players.

Before marriage Joyce had discovered her place of peace and sanctuary was in the mountains of Colorado. In a simpler time, she and Ross would take their family on annual sojourns to the high country where the pursuits centered on exploring nature and the attractions of the West. She gave her kids the opportunity to build family memories of running around a mountainside, building forts in the woods, exploring beaver ponds – don't go in the mines! - hiking, fishing, and camping. She, her kids, and their friends partook in Colorado hippy culture engaging in artsy endeavors ranging from batiking to belly dancing to macramé.

No telephone. No TV.

When her daughter Joy began to figure skate, she wholeheartedly supported her. Joyce too found a place in the skating world volunteering well into her eighties. She held board positions with the North Suburban Figure Skating Club. She directed the nation's largest Learn to Skate Program for the Detroit Skating Club. She was a member of the local organizing committee to bring the 1994 US Figure Skating Championships to Detroit. She served as chair to two national committees for US Figure Skating and as a national-level accountant - tabulating scores and placements for competitions of all sizes - neighborhood to national. Joyce delighted in the friendships she made, the work they did, and the travel the skating world provided.

Her golden years - they were all golden years - offered her the time to spend with her grandchildren. She was so proud of them and reveled in attending their activities. She was over-the-moon-happy when she took the whole family to Disney World, finding joy in every unforgettable moment.

Joyce is remembered for her commitment to her family, her bonds with friends, her creative endeavors, her work in figure skating, her exuberance for travel, and her love of Colorado and cats!

Charitable donations may be made to

Detroit Symphony Orchestra

Gleaners Community Food Bank

US Figure Skating - Memorial Fund

Family will receive friends Thursday, July 31, from 4-8PM with Rosary at 7:00ish, at A.J. Desmond & Sons (Vasu, Rodgers & Connell Chapel), 32515 Woodward Ave. (1/8 mile S of W14 Mile Rd), Royal Oak 48073.

Funeral Mass Friday, August 1, 11AM at Our Lady of La Salette, 2600 Harvard (NW corner of Coolidge & Harvard), Berkley. Visiting begins at 10:30AM. Lunch to follow.