Joyce R. Rhymer

Born on October 27, 1938, in Bordentown, New Jersey, Joyce was the daughter of Frank and Lillian Reeder. She graduated from William MacFarland High School in 1956 and went on to attend Douglass College at Rutgers University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in English Education in 1960. As the first member of her family to attend college, she pursued her education with determination and the support of a partial academic scholarship she had won.

Joyce devoted her professional life to the written word and to helping others learn. She began her career as a junior high English teacher in Kansas City and later taught high school English in Jefferson City, Missouri. She subsequently worked as a librarian in Newton, Iowa before embarking on a long and successful career in educational publishing. Over the years, she served as an editor for Charles E. Merrill Publishing, Zaner-Bloser, and McGraw Hill, where she retired in 2000.

Joyce’s passions extended far beyond her work. She played both guitar and piano, wrote poetry, knitted, and above all, read. An avid and devoted reader, she found joy in fantasy, science fiction, mysteries, and thrillers. The characters she encountered in books became lifelong companions, revisited again and again through the years. Few things made her happier than a good book, a cup of tea, and a quiet afternoon—whether beside the fireplace at her beloved Panera in Asheville or on the screened porch of her home overlooking the beauty of the Biltmore Forest.

Deeply rooted in her faith, Joyce was an active church member wherever life took her. Her spiritual journey included Trinity Methodist Church in Bordentown, New Jersey; Emmanuel Baptist Church in Ridgewood, New Jersey; First Baptist Church in Newton, Iowa; First Community Church in Marble Cliff, Ohio; Mountview Baptist Church in Upper Arlington, Ohio; and First Congregational United Church of Christ in Asheville, North Carolina. She sang alto in church choirs for many years and faithfully served on countless committees and ministries. Yet many of her most meaningful moments of worship took place beyond church walls. From her home in Asheville, she felt closest to God in the beauty of the natural world—in the mountains, the trees, the flowers in her garden, the birds and animals that surrounded her, and the sunsets that painted the sky beyond her porch.

In 2001, Joyce and her husband, Bob Rhymer, left Columbus, Ohio to begin a new chapter in Asheville, North Carolina. Together they built a home and enjoyed six wonderful years before Bob’s sudden passing in 2006. In the eighteen years that followed, Joyce continued to build a rich and meaningful life filled with friendships, community, learning, and service.

Those who knew Joyce will remember her as someone whose love of learning never faded. Conversations with her rarely remained on the surface. She approached people, ideas, books, faith, and life itself with thoughtfulness, nuance, and genuine wonder. She had an insatiable desire to understand the world and an equally strong desire to share what she learned with others.

Joyce is survived by her son, Mark Hillman, and his wife, Rachel Hillman, of Bexley, Ohio; her grandchildren, Lee Hillman and Annie Hillman; her sister, Francie Weaver, and brother-in-law, Bryce Weaver, of Fieldsboro, New Jersey; her nieces, Vanesa Weaver and Roe Weaver; and her nephew, Jim Weaver.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Bob Rhymer; her parents, Frank and Lillian Reeder; and her sister, Rosemarie Weaver.

A Celebration of Life will be held on July 24, 2026, at SCHOEDINGER MIDTOWN in Columbus, Ohio. Calling hours will begin at 12:30 p.m., followed by the service at 1:00 p.m.

In the end, Joyce never lost her sense of wonder. She leaves behind a legacy of curiosity, kindness, faith, learning, and a deep love for stories. Both the ones she read and the many lives she touched along the way.