Described by family members as sweet and social, Helen C. Joyce was also very determined when it came to pursuing her passions.
Loved ones said that after her eyes began to fail, the longtime Elmhurst resident switched to books with large print. When her body became weak, she started using a walker to visit friends and tend her flower garden.
“She’d throw on a hat and garden gloves and then head for the back yard with her walker,” said her son Brian. “She treasured all her flowers, but her favorites were two huge sunflowers that were 6 feet tall.”
Mrs. Joyce, 83, a longtime DuPage County election judge and volunteer at Elmhurst Memorial Hospital, died of respiratory failure Sunday, May 13, in ManorCare nursing facility in Hinsdale.
Born in Toronto, Mrs. Joyce was a toddler when her family moved to Chicago’s North Side. Her love of reading came from her father who loved newspapers and worked for many years in the mailroom of the Chicago Tribune.
“She grew up reading not only the Tribune, but all kinds of publications,” said her son.
After graduating from Lake View High School, Mrs. Joyce landed a job as a waitress at the Lakeshore Club in Chicago. It was there she met her husband of 63 years, Edward, who worked as a bellhop in the club’s hotel. The couple married and spent four days together before Edward was sent off to fight in the South Pacific in World War II.
“They didn’t see each other again until 2 1/2 years later, when dad came home from the war,” her son said.
Mrs. Joyce lived with her husband in Chicago for a few years before moving to Elmhurst in 1953. In the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s, she served as a DuPage County election judge in Elmhurst. During that time, she was also a volunteer at Elmhurst Memorial Hospital, where she visited with patients and brought them newspapers and magazines.
“She was a great talker and a very good listener” said close friend Lee Balocca of Elmhurst. “She loved being at the hospital, because I think she knew she could help a lot of people there.”
Mrs. Joyce particularly enjoyed sitting at a patient’s bedside and engaging them in conversation, family members said.
“The thing about Mom that always fascinated me was how much information she got from people in such a short period of time,” said her son Jay. “Give her 10 minutes with anyone and she’d come away knowing just about everything about them.”
In addition to her husband and two sons, Mrs. Joyce is survived by two daughters, Laurie Witzke and Karen Bezdicek; a sister, Phyllis Scott; five grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.
Mass will be said at 10 a.m. Thursday in Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Arthur Road and York Street, Elmhurst.
