Sylvia Joyce Ingram Braun

Sylvia Joyce (Ingram) Braun of Laupahoehoe, formerly of Bethlehem,
Connecticut, passed away on Sunday, November 26 at age 79. Sylvia, known to her
family and friends as Joyce, was born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts on July 3, 1944, to
Joseph and Sylvia (Fiskaali) Ingram. Joyce played volleyball and basketball at Fitchburg
High School, from where she graduated in 1962. She held a degree in elementary
education from theUniversity of Massachusetts at Amherst, and began her career as a
second grade teacher. She then moved into administrative work; first in university
admissions and later as an office manager. In 1989 she paused her career to care for
her parents in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, a beloved longtime family vacation spot.
After her parents' passing, Joyce returned to Connecticut, where she was an
active volunteer for the United Congregational Church of Torrington. Over the years,
Joyce ran the Sunday school and teen activities, spearheaded fundraisers, worked at
soup kitchens and served on pastoral search committees. She was respected for her
judgment, wit, dedication, and discretion.
Joyce pursued numerous hobbies throughout her life. She was a voracious
reader and avid puzzler. She was also an excellent sewer and made most of her
clothes growing up, including many beautiful formal gowns. While residing on Cape
Cod, Joyce took up basketry and became expert in various styles, including the famed
Nantucket basket. She made a woven cradle for her first grandchild.
Always a prolific knitter and crocheter, Joyce made beautiful sweaters for her
husband Jim, Irish cable-knit throws, and intricate and whimsical sweaters for her
grandchildren. Joyce's love of classical music inspired her daughter and grandchildren
to pursue instrumental and vocal music performance. After moving to Laupahoehoe,
Hawaii in 2008, Joyce became a gourmet cook, and enjoyed feeding friends and
neighbors as well as experimenting with culinary uses for the many tropical fruits she
and her husband Jim grew on their large agricultural property.
Moving to Hawaii with her husband Jim was the adventure of a lifetime for Joyce.
They began the years-long process of building a home and wood-working shop, living
off-grid, and creating beautiful grounds, an orchard, and pastures for their small herd of
cattle, all by their own ingenuity and hard labor. When not tending to the land, Joyce
reveled in many social activities in the community and with her large circle of friends.
She danced with the local Kupuna hula halau for years, and took water aerobics at the
Laupahoehoe Pool. Joyce and her husband Jim attended regular happy hour
gatherings, breakfast and lunch groups, and volunteered with the Laupahoehoe Music
Festival, Laupahoehoe School, and CERT (Community Emergency Response Team),
through which she became a certified HAM radio operator.
In addition to the love of her life and husband of 46 years Jim Braun, Joyce is
survived by her daughter Charlotte (Frank) Musonda of Ellicott City, Maryland;
grandchildren Jillian (Justin) Clark and Niall Musonda (Skyler) of San Francisco,
California, and Evan Musonda of Maryland. She is also survived by brother David
(Jennifer) Ingram of Florida and sister Alma (Edwin) Hubbell of Tennessee and Cape
Cod, as well as many nieces and nephews. Joyce was predeceased by her parents and
her brother Paul (Beverly) Ingram of Westlake, Ohio.
Plans for a celebration of Joyce's life are incomplete at this time, but it will be
held at a later date in both Hawaii and on the mainland.
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