Virginia Joyce

Virginia Joyce, 88, died Monday, January 23, 2012, in Durango. A Memorial Service will be held Tuesday, January 31, 2012, at 1:00 P.M. at First United Methodist Church, Durango.

Mrs. Joyce was born March 4, 1923, in Athens, Texas, the daughter of Cranfill and Effie Cox, Sr. Mrs. Joyce grew up in Gilmer, Texas, and attended high school in Gilmer. She attended North Texas State College in Denton, Texas. She married Don Joyce prior to his departure for the India China theatre, where he was stationed in WWII.

During her lifetime, Mrs. Joyce worked as a dance instructor, a journalist, and a florist, and had talents in music and interior design. She excelled at the skills that made a house a home.

She had an avid interest in American history and one of her hobbies was quilting. She received awards in 1976 for her bicentennial quilt, which featured autographs contributed by many of the prominent personalities and celebrities of the 20th century, including John Wayne, Joe DiMaggio, Grace Kelly, Michael DeBakey, Ronald Reagan, Denton A. Cooley, Helen Hayes, Bing Crosby, Barry Goldwater, Omar N. Bradley, Nelson Rockefeller, Gerald R. Ford, Betty Ford, Henry A. Kissinger, Walter Cronkite, Norman Rockwell, Bob Hope, Hank Aaron, and Shirley Temple Black, among others.

She was a very active volunteer for many years with the Fort Worth School Systems, adopting the persona of "Mother Goose," reading classic literature and fairy tales to encourage an interest in reading to elementary school students. Her husband, Don, died in 2001, and Mrs. Joyce moved to Durango in 2006 to be closer to her son and his family. She was an active member of First United Methodist Church in Durango.

She is survived by her son, Doug Joyce and his family of Durango.