Joyce Shiplett Huffman

Born May 18th, 1934, to Lee and Delia Hoggard, Joyce and her two brothers Royce, her twin, and John grew up in a time not many of us still remember. In Waxahachie, Texas, her time was spent in school activities where she was captain of the women's high school basketball team, a member of the Beacon Staff, a Y-teen Club member, part of the Future Homemakers Club, and an ever-present participant in the school’s Business Club.

Like many young adults in Waxahachie at the time, she spent her free time at the community swimming pool, where she met her soon-to-be husband, William Shiplett. Joyce loved to tell the story of how she was sitting on the edge of the pool talking to her friends, and William swam under the water from the other side of the pool. When close enough, he reached out and lightly pinched Joyce’s leg, which she was dipping in the pool to stay cool. She failed to elaborate on her role in the gesture, or why she left her leg in the pool or didn’t see William swimming up, but the story remained that William stole her heart from that day forward. Some years after her wedding to William in 1953, the two adopted their two children Greggory and Shannon. The little family blossomed further with the marriage of her daughter Shannon to Michael Fox, and the birth of her three grandchildren, Jessica, Christen, and Bryan. Sadly, they also experienced the passing of their son Greggory in those years.

Later, William and Joyce opened a Century 21 franchise in Dallas, Texas where William sold houses until his passing in August of 1991. In his last year, Joyce knew William’s health was deteriorating, and being the proactive woman she was, decided to pursue and earn her real estate license and later her brokerage license. After William’s passing, Joyce took over the franchise and continued to operate it for nearly 20 years.

Almost 15 years after William’s death, Joyce remarried to Leroy Huffman in 2005 and lived happily together until Leroy’s passing in 2015. Joyce was also blessed as her grandchildren married and provided her with six great-grandchildren (Jesslyn, Penelope, Eli, Link, Flynn, and Cameran). Joyce was a regular at church, where she learned the lessons of patience and generosity, which she will be remembered for by all those who knew her. She kept a sharp mind about herself, likely as a result of running her business for many years longer than she likely should have; and knew how to smile and joke even in the most stressful of situations. She loved food and loved holding dinners at her home whenever she could. She insisted that her house be the location for get-togethers, holidays, birthdays, and any other event where family came together. If you were lucky, she might get the nice dishes down for dinner, which indicated the event was truly a special one. She also insisted that Sunday dinner be homemade.

Even later in her life, Joyce personally attended to the dinner preparations, though someone else could do the dishes… Her wit, energy, and humor will be dearly missed. Joyce was preceded in death by both her children, Greg and Shannon, her two husbands William and Leroy, and her two brothers, Royce and John. There will be a service for her on May 10th in Dallas, Texas, with invitations forthcoming. Afterward, she will be laid to rest next to William, Royce and Greg in Waxahachie.