 I met Joyce when she and David were just finishing building their Home at Chicken Hill &  Katrina brought her to my house to look at some of my " garden art"   (a weed covered hoard of ridiculously heavy objects )   Though I  was designing gardens professionally , I was really  embarrassed to meet her and  have her see my own overgrown tangle of a garden.  ( mostly science projects &  volunteers coming up from seed )  The moment she saw my garden Joyce didn't blink an eye immediately  announced " I want YOU to do my garden! " Then She trooped through my weedy patch &  bought a giant refugee vintage sink on the spot .   
She had in refinished and installed her bathroom  at Chicken Hill. how cool is that?  Joyce  was at the cutting edge of "farmhouse chic" before it was thing.   

We became fast friends  bonding over her various garden projects at Chicken Hill .  What a Magical place she and David made there! It was during this time that I was shocked to learn I had been diagnosed w Breast cancer &  Joyce shared with me that she was a survivor and mentored me through & talked me off the ledge many times. 

This photo is of her sitting in my  garden w the vase she made for me  came with me on my first day of chemotherapy & then she took me out afterwards when  we went shopping at Sam Moon to so I could stock up on scarves and earrings before my hair fell out . 

Joyce . she could make anything fun.  

When I remember Aunt Joyce, the thing that pops in my mind is 4th of July and fireworks at the Cedar Creek lake house.  There were always massive amounts of fireworks available for 4th of July and I was always very excited and thankful to be included in the festivities.  We would shoot them off for what seemed like hours, always saving the most elaborate and colorful ones for last.  As I think about who she was, I think fireworks are actually a pretty good metaphor for Aunt Joyce's personality...very colorful, sparkly and bigger than life.  This is how I will remember her.

Our bridge parties and love for Davin and Lincln

Our deepest sympathy goes out to family and friends; we were saddened to hear of Joyce’s passing.  If we knew anything about Joyce, we know how much she adored her beloved pets. It was our honor and privilege to help her care for them over the years; please let us know if we can help in any other way.
 Love and prayers from myself and the rest of my staff at Countryside Veterinary Clinic - Dr J, Kristy, Misti, Ashley, and Melissa 

A precious friend since 1974 when my  family moved in across the street, Joyce was a bigger-than-life Texas woman who, bless her heart,  loved a Damn Yankee like myself.  
Of my countless memories, an exceptional one is the tradition Joyce and I  started with our families spending Thanksgiving together, even after our sons married and had children of their own.    In the beginning, we alternated homes, our kiddos carrying side dishes over to the host house.  Later, we trekked down to their ranch in Morgan, and after that to the 'Chicken Hill Farm' house she and David  built in Red Oak.  Eventually, she  abdicated hosting to Judd and Nanci's, and now it's Chris and Shep who are the annual hosts.  And wherever and whenever we meet for Thanksgiving, the guys still trash talk each other like they used to growing up.  Maybe they never really grew up?
My brightest and funnest memory with Joyce is from our trip to Bar Harbour, Maine in September of 1991 when blueberries were in high season.  According to the locals, the blueberry pie at the Bar Harbour Inn was not to be missed.  However, we could only get a 'late seating'  for dinner there on our last night in Maine,  The dining room was old world elegant and formal, wait staff in tuxes.  As we studied the menu, I proposed we have dessert first - in case they ran out of blueberry pie.  This was, after all, their 'late seating.'   Immediately, Joyce summoned our waiter, saying we'd  each like  to start with a slice of their  legendary blueberry pie a la mode.  The entire room seemed to go silent.  The waiter repeated the order as Joyce and I smiled and nodded  'yes.'   After the waiter left, heads popped out of the kitchen to see who had dared to break the conventional dining order.   Later, an elderly couple commended us. "We couldn't help overhearing.  You young people really know how to do things right!"  
Farewell, my beloved friend.  Together in spirit forever, Kath
 

The years I spent with Joyce in my life were filled with adventure and camaraderie.  She leaves behind a lifetime of memories to be celebrated and she lived life in the biggest ways possible.

I can’t imagine how empty I will feel to not have Joyce with me at the many garden centers we haunted or on the many vacations we enjoyed with David and Martin.

We would go out and buy the biggest, heaviest pots, come home, back the vehicle up onto the grass, and proceed to slide the pot very gingerly onto the ground and roll them to their resting place in the yard-David and Martin were then none the wiser that the purchase had even been made and they didn’t even have to lift them.

On a trip to South Padre in the late 80’s, we had been successful on a weight loss and exercise program (for the umpteenth time).  We decided to walk the 2 mile bridge, even though, the posted sign stated “No Pedestrians Allowed”.  We were not deterred, as Joyce was positive we would not be stopped, Luckily it ended well.

And who could forget one trip to Hawaii, we took a helicopter ride. As we approached, I was asked my weight, (Martin gasped “you weigh what?”), and so Joyce proceeded to fudge a bit when she was asked her poundage, all the while cutting her eyes at me.

Joyce kept a smile on my face throughout the ups and downs of life, and I will keep smiling in her honor.



"Aunt Joyce", who is not actually my Aunt but might as well have been since she was there for me nearly the entirety of my childhood, post college, and our Thanksgiving hangouts well into having kids and being "adults" - she was the first BIG PERSONALITY I ever met.  Her presence filled a room and could command any moment in time if she so chose.

My first vivid memory of her was "swimming" in the Ward's pool when I was five years old - I didn't actually know how to swim (though I was an awesome dog paddler) but since everyone (my brother, Judd, Jason, and of course Davin and Lincoln) did, I wanted to go into the deep end and jump from the diving board.  As I was about to go to the deep end, someone ratted me out to Aunt Joyce - I don't remember exactly who though I'm pretty sure it was Judd (dude was honest to a fault).  Immediately she asked me to swim back and forth in the shallow end so she could see if I was qualified for the depth's of the Ward's pool.  Of course, I was a complete fail.

Rather than just ban me from ever going to the deep end, Aunt Joyce said she would teach me how to swim if I came back over on the days she was available.  True to her word, every time I went back over, she helped me learn freestyle and breaststroke to her satisfaction so I could go into the deep end and jump from the diving board.  She didn't have to invest that kind of time in a neighborhood kid, but she did so because she was the kind of person who couldn't stand to see someone left behind.  Big personality and BIG HEART.

Both Aunt Joyce and Uncle David played enormous roles in my life and with our family.  Being with them, all eccentricities aside, was truly a blessing for me, my family, and our children.  They both made a difference in my life and so they both live on in celebration of who they were and what they meant to others. 
 
Godspeed Aunt Joyce, the Lord broke the mold for you. 


Rest in peace Aunt Joyce. You were always a great advocate. Thank you for the kindness you showed me and my family.                    
 Davin, Lincoln, Stacey, Judd and Jason you are in our thoughts and prayers.
Love Patrick ,Glenna and Zadie

I met Joyce at her son Davin's wedding and she made a life long impression on me.  What a wonderful, full of life, beautiful lady who was a JOY to be around!  She will be missed by so many.  Love to all of her family and friends. Rest in Peace, Joyce

OBITUARY

Mrs. Joyce "YaYa" Eldon Ward

March 28, 1941 – August 8, 2021

Laurel Land Funeral Home & Laurel Land Memorial Park

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