Joyce B. Humphrey

Joyce Mae Bowman Humphrey, 101, longtime resident of Glastonbury, Connecticut, died on Saturday, May 22, 2021, at The Hearth at Glastonbury. Born March 1, 1920, in Duluth, Minnesota, the younger daughter of Sydney and Elizabeth Mabel Bowman, she was a proud and loving daughter of both those parents and that city. She loved her father's company and spent a great deal of time with him, hiking, fishing, handing him tools while he repaired the car, talking. She admired the cheerfulness, strong spirit, and gratefulness that characterized her mother even during the nine years of Joyce's youth when Elizabeth was bedridden. Her parents settled near Joyce’s family in the late 1960s or early 1970s, and Joyce devoted much time and energy to caring for them for the rest of their lives. The hillside city on the shores of Lake Superior where they raised her was a favorite topic of conversation with Joyce. She was always ready to tell others about the history and character of Duluth and her experiences growing up there.

After graduating from Denfeld High School, Joyce attended Duluth Junior College for two years before going on to earn, with distinction, a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Minnesota's College of Education, in Minneapolis. She spent the year after graduation teaching in a small Minnesota town. Then, having been accepted into the University of Minnesota's Pratt and Whitney Fellowship Program, she returned to the University to complete four quarters of engineering-related courses. This secured her a position as an Engineering Aide at Pratt & Whitney Aircraft, in East Hartford, Connecticut. She said that this position and her college career were the proudest accomplishments of her life.

At Pratt & Whitney, she met Charles Humphrey. They married in 1950 and in 1951 moved into the house in Glastonbury where Joyce lived until the end of 2017. She left Pratt & Whitney to raise their three children, Don, Sue, and Jim and, over the years, two Boston Terriers, Mike and Archie. Anyone who knew Joyce knew that she delighted in dogs of all kinds, but Bostons were her favorites, as she had grown up with several of them. A small pillow she had on display for the last many years of her life said: "Life without dogs ... I don't think so." Especially when she no longer had a dog of her own, she relished any opportunity to interact with the canine companions of others.

Joyce and Chuck shared a great love of being in nature, hiking, camping, and taking road trips of all lengths throughout the U.S. and Canada. Joyce was keenly interested in plants and animals, and she found every kind of landscape engaging. Through family vacations and outings, the two passed their love of the outdoors and of car trips on to their children.

Along with family, their faith was of central importance to Joyce and Chuck. They were active members of Buckingham Congregational Church for as long as each was able to be. Their many activities there included working at the church's annual Early American Fair, where the maker in Joyce found expression in candle-dipping and root beer-making, among other efforts. She also served as a deacon, participated in the Ladies Aid/Women’s Fellowship and Bible study group, and worked on the annual Strawberry Supper.

Joyce returned to work outside the home in the early 1970s, eventually being rehired by Pratt & Whitney and retiring from there in 1985. Joyce loved to dance, and while Chuck didn't share her fondness for dancing in general, they did both enjoy square dancing and took part in that activity on a regular basis for some years. In 1978, they bought an RV which they put to extensive use until Chuck's unexpected death late in 1988, only days after being diagnosed with cancer.

After Chuck's passing, Joyce spent many winters in one warm location or another, usually in Florida, with a group of friends. Until she was 90, she was a regular and enthusiastic participant in activities at Glastonbury's Senior Center, both before and after it moved into its current home in the Riverfront Community Center, whose creation she had strongly supported.

Indeed, Joyce had always enjoyed pursuing her interests in the company of others. She was happy to share experiences of many kinds: travel, day trips, arts performances, learning, exercising, dining, helping people in need, deepening her faith. In school, she received recognition for her involvement in various organizations, including work on the school newspaper and yearbook. Among the other groups she participated in were Pratt & Whitney's social club, during her early years with the company; Women's Club, Garden Club, and the Bolton Homemakers Club; and in her later years, Tiny Tours, Elderhostel, the Red Hat Society, the Audubon Society, and a book club. In whatever social situation she found herself, she loved sharing laughter with her companions.

The interest in writing and communications displayed by her school newspaper and yearbook work continued throughout most of her life. In the late 1990s she completed a genealogy of her family that included many letters and other documents, as well as notes and a history of her father’s life which she wrote herself. She also worked on the Senior Center's The Sharing Tree Newsletter and prepared mailings of the Audubon Society's newsletter.

After she stopped driving at age 90, she mostly stayed at home, enjoying her more solitary pastimes - reading, music, television, gardening, yardwork. Also dealing with the stacks of requests for charitable donations that jammed her mailbox, making her wish that her resources were equal to her desire to help. It became apparent then, too, that she had inherited her mother's great (not to say obsessive) love of word-search puzzles. She continued to enjoy family celebrations, Sunday drives with Don and daughter-in-law Lilly, and visitors. Her health eventually required her to leave her beloved home, and she spent her last few years at The Hearth at Glastonbury. Joyce hoped that everyone would get great enjoyment out of their life, and she had a lot of success in achieving that goal throughout hers. A few months before her passing, with Don and Lilly assisting in her room at the Hearth, she had fun at the Zoom party that family and friends held to celebrate her 101st birthday.

In addition to her husband and parents, Joyce was preceded in death by her sister, Laura Bowman Kooistra, much too soon; and by her brother-in-law, David Kooistra.

She is survived by son Donald Humphrey and wife Lilliana of Hebron, CT; daughter Susan Humphrey of Madison, WI; son James Humphrey and wife Christianne of Center Sandwich, NH; grandson Derek Humphrey and wife Lauren; granddaughter Carla Humphrey and fiancé Hermes Marticio; granddaughter Chelsea Escarfullery and husband Michelle; grandson Samuel Humphrey; great-grandchildren Marjorie and Nolan Humphrey and Luca Escarfullery; and nephews Paul Kooistra and wife Sandi, and Roger Kooistra and wife Janet.

The family thanks all those who made Joyce's final years more comfortable and sociable than they otherwise would have been. We are especially grateful for the caring attention given her by Nazrene Allie, Seeta Sugrim, Felicia Truesdale, and Darnel Johnson.

No funeral was held. A private celebration of Joyce's life took place in June of this year.

Memorial contributions may be made to Buckingham Congregational Church (16 Cricket Lane, Glastonbury, CT 06033), Connecticut Humane Society (701 Russell Road, Newington, CT 06111), or National Park Foundation (1500 K Street NW, Suite 700, Washington, D.C. 20005).

Glastonbury Funeral Home in East Hartford was entrusted with final care.