M. Frances Joyce

Frances was born September 17, 1928 in Woodhaven, NY, to John and Frances (Wackerbauer) Horn, German immigrants. She earned a full scholarship to St. John’s University and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Business Administration in 1950. As a newly minted but still rare-for-the-time female college graduate, Frances was disappointed to be asked only “how fast can you type” at her first job interviews. She went on, however, to surpass these modest expectations by rising to a management position in personnel and hiring at several companies in Manhattan. She enjoyed a long professional career in New York City before moving to Bloomington in 1965 to begin a family. Throughout her life, she remained proud of the educational and professional achievements she attained despite the modest origins of her earlier life.

As a Bloomingtonian, Frances was an active member of Psi Iota Xi and volunteered at several local organizations including Meals On Wheels, St. Charles Elementary School, the Monroe County Library, and Matrix, a crisis pregnancy center. Later in life, she also spent many election cycles manning polling centers. She was also a constant supporter of the Benedictine Mission House, Salvation Army, and Doctors without Borders.

While her health remained, Frances was also an inveterate traveler and for many years, it was her habit to visit an exotic locale annually. Countries she visited include Mexico, Greece, Italy, Japan, Egypt and South Africa, among many others. Frances was also blessed with a wicked sense of humor and the gift of gab and these she used to acquire many friends at home and along the way in her many trips. It is the hope of those who love her that her spirit now floats free and easy, but never silent, on some greater adventure.

She is survived by her daughter, Patricia Joyce of Brooklyn New York, and step-children Catherine Cooper of Indianapolis, Robert Joyce of Sun Prairie, WI and Richard Joyce of Waxham, NC.

Mass of Christian Burial is scheduled for Wednesday, January 14, 2015 at 11:00 A.M. in Saint Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, 2224 East 3rd St., with Father Tom Kovatch officiating. Burial will follow in Rose Hill Cemetery. Visitation is scheduled for Tuesday, January 13, 2015 in Day & Deremiah-Frye Funeral Home, 4150 East 3rd St., from 5:00 – 8:00 P.M. If friends so desire, Memorial Contributions may be made to, The Salvation Army or Doctors without Borders.