Joyce R. Loftin

Joyce passed away on October 31st after a long battle with Alzheimer's and other painful illnesses. She suffered much pain and discomfort for over a year, so we're thankful she's at peace. Hopefully, Joyce is again doing the jitterbug with Cliff while skinny Elvis sings. The love Joyce received from her daughter Judy, son Jeff, son in law Greg, granddaughters Robin and Carrie and their husbands Bill and Paul, and her great grandkids Chris, Rebecca, Katelyn, Lily and Jude undoubtedly helped Joyce during her illness, but only her beautiful spirit and sense of humor could allow her to suffer so much with so much grace and so little complaint. The outpouring of love towards Judy and Jeff from the Village on the Green staff before and after Joyce's passing shows how well she was liked and loved by the wonderful staff there. Not all of Joyce's life was painful. With the exception of difficult times after the passing of her husband Cliff in 1976, and son Jan in 1997, Joyce's life was pretty good for a woman born "dirt poor" in Mississippi during the great depression. She lived in Miami, Dallas, Atlanta and Orlando, and went on vacations to San Francisco, Las Vegas, New England, "old" England and Scotland. She raised three pretty good kids, had a great impact on two wonderful granddaughters, and had the joy of being with 5 smart, respectful, and funny great grandkids. While Cliff pursued several careers before eventually finding his area of expertise, sales, Joyce raised three kids while running a gas station, a laundromat, a convenience store and then finding her niche as a proofreader for the Orlando Sentinel. Her main job though was being mom while dad traveled 4-5 days almost every week. She may have been good at running stations and stores and proofreading, but she was great at being mom. Mom might have disagreed when Judy thought about changing high schools during her senior year, and wasn't always happy with Jan dropping off puppies (and one horse) that he decided he couldn't care for, and wasn't happy at all that Jeff wanted to be a pilot since she feared flying, but she still supported all of us in all we did. She didn't criticize and she didn't second guess - she supported. That support, and the examples she showed about the importance of reading, frugality, and working hard while keeping a sense of humor is probably why Judy, Jeff, Robin, Carrie, Chris, Rebecca, Katelyn, Lily and Jude are all healthy and happy. That's a pretty good legacy. Friends are invited to celebrate Joyce’s life at an Open House on Saturday, Nov. 7 from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm at the home of Judy and Greg Wise. 30014 Willow Trace, Mount Dora, FL 32757 In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Alzheimer’s Association. https://paymentportal.alzheimerscentralohio.org/MemorialandHonorariumsInfo.html

Joyce R. Loftin

April 15, 1932 - October 31, 2015