Joyce A. Magee

Joyce Alma Safford Magee went home to be with her heavenly Father on Friday, January 30, 2026. Joyce was 94 years old. She was born in Lakehurst, NJ on September 22, 1931. Joyce was the third daughter of David Reese "Doc" Safford and Gladys "Dolly" Septor Safford.

She was very proud to have been a lifelong resident of Lakehurst. She remembered and recounted the Hindenburg disaster in 1937 and the impact that disaster had on Lakehurst. Her dad was in the navy and was a linesman for the Hindenburg. She said when the airship exploded it was a big ball of fire that knocked her to the ground. She was only five years old.

When Joyce was three years old her dad was a surviving crewman on the USS Macon when it crashed into the Pacific Ocean on February 12, 1935. Joyce was only ten years old when her dad was a crewman on a ship at Pearl Harbor when it was attacked on December 7, 1941, beginning WWII.

As a teenager, Joyce was one of the founding members of the Lakehurst First Aid. She was a graduate of Lakewood High School.

On November 26, 1949, Joyce married Leonard David "Babe" Magee at Lakehurst Methodist Church. They were married for sixty six years before Babe's death in 2016. Joyce and Babe had five children.

Joyce was a devout Christian, a member of the Lakehurst Methodist Church where she taught Sunday School and made sure her children attended Sunday School every Sunday. In later years Joyce had HER chosen seat at the back row of the sanctuary, where she sat every Sunday.

Joyce had numerous jobs outside the home, at WT Grant dept. store, the navy base at Lakehurst and at a heating and AC company. But her most important job was being Mom to Gary, Diane, Dale, Jan and Jill. She was a homemakerat heart and she's fondly remembered for the many pumpkin pies she made from scratch each fall. She was also a master Christmas cookie baker!

Joyce was pre-deceased byher mom and dad, "Doc" and "Dolly" Safford, two sisters, Joan Safford Hayes and Doris "Dottie" Safford Budd, and her beloved husband, Babe Magee. She is survivedby her sister Barbara Edwards and many nieces and nephews. She is remembered by her sons, Gary (Beth) Magee Manchester and Dale (Sally) Sykesville, MD., and three daughters, Diane Harvey, Jan (Kenny) Wickham, and Jill (Tom) Lewis, all of Whiting. Joyce and Babe had eleven grandchildren: Patrick, Kary, Troy, Steven, Shannon, Corey, Kelley, Vicky, Nicole, Megan, and Kathyrn. She ais also survived by 24 great grandchildren.

A funeral service will be held on Monday, February 9, 2026, from 9:30 am to 10:30 am at Lakehurst United Methodist Church, located at 204 Elm St, Lakehurst, NJ, 08733.

A committal service will follow on the same day at 11:30 am at Brigadier General William C. Doyle Memorial Cemetery, located at 350 Province Line Rd, Wrightstown, NJ, 08562.