Margie Joyce Jones

Margie Joyce Jones was born in Livingston, Texas on April 25, 1933. She was one of nine children. Joyce passed away November 10, 2025, in The Woodlands, Texas. She graduated from Livingston High School where she played basketball for 3 years and lettered 2 of those years. She thought it was funny that most people didn't believe she had played basketball. She was extremely proud that her father, Walter Murphy, and occasionally her mother, Turner, were able to attend some of her games. Her teammates included Pat and Alice Walker. One of the sports reports read "In the second half Livingston made a brilliant comeback. Joyce Murphy began sacking crip shots. Murphy scored 25 of Livingston's 34 points." A crip shot is a layup, so she must have been good at those. She often shot hoops with her children when they were young.

Upon graduation, she moved to Houston where she initially stayed with her sister Florene. Florene helped her get a job at Magnolia Paper Company. After Florene's oldest child James was born, she stayed with her sister Alma. Eloise Miller told her about a room in the Heights neighborhood she could rent for $13 per week which included dinner. Eventually her former basketball teammates Pat and Alice Walker also rented from Mrs. Fort.

One of her neighbors, Lorene Connor, noticed a good-looking telephone man working in the neighborhood. She encouraged Joyce to go on a blind date with him so they could double date. Joyce was surprised and a little embarrassed to learn that he was the same young telephone man she had whistled at when she saw him working in the neighborhood. The Forts vouched for him since he had done telephone work for them. Herman quickly became popular with her circle of friends since he was the only one who owned a car. Her landlady, Mrs. Fort, went with Joyce and Herman to get their blood tests to get married. Mrs. Fort helped them find their first apartment. Joyce corresponded with Mrs. Fort until 1975. Notes that Joyce wrote on the envelope of a letter from Mrs. Fort revealed how important she had been to her and Herman. They married on May 3, 1951, and had three children, Patricia, Betty, and Dennis. Joyce left her job and answered a higher calling to became a homemaker and stay-at-home mom. She ran the house and transported children to school and after-school activities while Herman worked two jobs. Joyce was an accomplished seamstress and made clothes for her daughters and her niece, Sarah Jo. She earned extra money by making clothes for her daughters' friends.

Each summer, they packed up the Oldsmobile and took the kids to the Frio River. Disneyland didn't stand a chance against the Frio, and Joyce and Herman loved the Texas Hill Country. When their children got married and had children, she provided the best daycare anyone could want. She started out with Betty's twins, and received help and support from her long-time friend, Mildred Williams. She developed relationships with her five grandchildren that others envied. The same thing happened when her great grandchildren were born. Her daycare was happily re-opened for Colby Boudreaux in 2004. She and Herman doted on their grandchildren and great grandchildren. They were always there with a helping hand.

Joyce much preferred working in the yard than spending time in the house. She was not a great housekeeper, but she knew her way around the kitchen. She made the best German chocolate cakes, and the family hoped for one every holiday or birthday. For Christmas, she would make chocolate pecan fudge which she had to hide to keep everyone from eating it before Christmas. She had a green thumb, and her yard was filled with flowers and her garden with vegetables. Joyce mowed her own lawn until her mid-80s which was a constant worry for the family. They were much relieved when the lawnmower broke down in 2024.

Herman preceded her in death in 2021, and Joyce spent her last years in memory care. She will be laid to rest beside Herman and near other family members in the Camp Ruby Cemetery outside Livingston. They were married for 70 years.

She is survived by her sister Alma, and brother, Dan; her children: Patricia Maeda and husband Jeff, Betty Ward and husband Denny, and Dennis Jones and wife Becky; grandchildren: Brandy Williams and her husband Allen, Dan Buck and his wife Holly, Angie Boudreaux and her husband Bryan, Dennis Jones, Jr. and his wife Shannon, and Daniel Jones and his wife Nina; great grandchildren: Brooke Williams, Mykayla Jones, Colby Boudreaux, Blake Boudreaux, Dylan Buck, Julianne Joyce Buck, Caroline Buck, Olivia Koger, and Haley Koger.

Pallbearers: Dennis Jones, Jr., Daniel Jones, Dan Buck, Dylan Buck, Colby Boudreaux, Blake Boudreaux