Joyce Ann Marciniak

Joyce Ann Marciniak
12/26/2025
Joyce Ann Marciniak, age 87, of Honor, Michigan, passed peacefully on December 26, 2025, at French Manor South in Traverse City, Michigan. She was a cherished mother, grandmother, sister, and friend. Born on August 14, 1938, in Toledo, Ohio, Joyce was the youngest child of Aloysius and Wanda (Brzozowicz) Sieja, the fourth after Hyacinth, Lillian, and Thomas.
Joyce's childhood was spent at Scott Park, near her family's home on Woodstock Avenue where she swam and played sports with her brother and their friends. Her family took summer vacations on Lake Erie, where they loved to swim, fish, and lie in the sun. Joyce graduated from St. Ursula Academy in 1956 and, after graduation, worked in the offices of A&P's warehousing and coffee roasting facilities. She used some of her earnings to purchase a red Ford Mustang, in which she drove her parents to Florida on vacation. She also accompanied them on a cross-country train trip to San Francisco.
She spent her free time on the Churchill's and Carone's teams with the Toledo Blade Queens League from 1964-1972, where she met dear friends like Betty Korecki, Phyllis Max, JoAnn Besisie, and Gladys Schmidlin. Her bowling talent took her to Atlantic City, New Orleans, and Las Vegas. Bowling also brought her to meet her future husband, Leon Marciniak, and they married in November 1969. Joyce and Leon relocated to northern Michigan in 1972 and settled on Platte Lake. Joyce was well-liked by neighbors and eventually began cleaning cottages in the area because she could bring her young daughter along. Joyce also worked seasonally for friends who owned the Platte River KOA and Riverside Canoes before joining the housekeeping staff of Interlochen Center for the Arts in the 1980s. She retired in the early 2000s after many years of service to Interlochen. She loved the many friends she made there and enjoyed getting to know the students and attending student and guest performances.
Joyce spent her retirement attending as many of her grandchildren's cross-country and track meets and ballet recitals as she could, and demanded to watch every recording of her granddaughter's wrestling matches. She was a devoted fan of the Green Bay Packers, Chicago Cubs, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and Ohio State Buckeyes, eventually cheering on the University of Michigan Wolverines once her grandson enrolled there. Joyce was a voracious reader and instilled a love of books in her daughter, which was passed on to her grandchildren.
Joyce is survived by: her daughter, Katherine (Christopher) DeGood; grandchildren, Willem and Adeline; Chris' parents, Daniel and MaryAnn DeGood; and many nieces and nephews. Joyce was preceded in death by: her parents; her brother, Tom (Lucia); her sisters, Lillian Einhart and Hyacinth (Arthur) Mierzwiak; and her husband, Leon.
After her husband's death in 2021, Joyce enjoyed a few quiet years on Platte Lake with support from Dan and MaryAnn. Joyce was cared for, in her final years, by the staff of French Manor South, who were like a second family to her, and in her final months by Hospice of Michigan.
A funeral mass will be held at St. Philip Neri in Empire, Michigan, on Monday, January 5, 2026, at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Benzie Area Christian Neighbors, Interlochen Center for the Arts, or Hospice of Michigan.
The Bennett-Barz Funeral Home, in Beulah, is in charge of arrangements.
www.bennett-barzfuneralhome.com