Joyce Marie Martin

Born in Mobile, Alabama, in 1943, to Lila Jones (née Kelly) and Joseph B. Jones, Joyce was the oldest of four girls. She was a kind, courteous caretaker to her sisters (Linda Jones Moore, Sandra Jones Drummond and Janet Jones Baldwin), but also fiercely curious and adventurous in her approach to life. She learned to fly planes, achieving her pilot license as a young adult and would later follow her future husband (Gary Cabbot Martin, 1941-2015) across the country, taking a teaching position in Tiajuana, Mexico just to be closer to him. She was a devout University of Alabama alum and football fan – Roll Tide! After graduating from the University of Alabama she went on to earn two masters degrees from the University of Southern California. She subsequently dedicated many years to teaching, including teaching special education in Denver, Colorado, where her patience and dedication touched countless lives.

After several years of teaching, Joyce found her true calling as an artist. She crafted hundreds of unique pottery pieces and vibrant abstract paintings over the years, selling pieces in venues as varied as the ‘Wonder Pots’ shack attached to her and her husband’s Conifer cabin to high-end galleries in Denver and New York. Her curiosity extended beyond her artwork. She also played the piano, learned to ski, windsurf, sail and play tennis all as an adult. Joyce was also an avid reader and read thousands of novels during her life. She embraced new challenges with grace and enthusiasm and was warm and friendly to be around. She could (and would) strike up a conversation wherever she went with whoever she encountered.

Above all, Joyce loved her family. She was married to her husband, Gary, for nearly 50 years, and together they raised two children, Brooke Ferri and Blake Martin, and she was the proud grandmother of five grandchildren, Django (14), Madison (7), Broderick (5), Ennio (2) and Vaughn (2) and loved her sister and brother in law, Leslie Tillquist Martin and Jilbér Ferri, respectively. Her happiest moments were often the simplest - sitting on her back patio with family, listening to jazz on KUVO and watching her grandchildren play in the yard.

Joyce will be remembered as a silly, fun-loving, and generous soul who lived fully and loved deeply. The qualities she shared so freely will continue to live on in the lives of her family and friends, a lasting reflection of the love and light she brought into the world.

A memorial service for Joyce will be held Saturday, September 27, 2025 at 10:00 AM at Olinger Chapel Hill Mortuary & Cemetery, 6601 South Colorado Blvd, Centennial, CO 80121.