Joyce Brown Braniff

Born October 6, 1950 in Houston, Joyce passed away too soon on April 29, 2026. She grew up in Katy, and spent her adult life in Houston, Corpus Christi, and eventually San Marcos.

Joyce was always energetic, funny, kind, musical, artistic, and was always up for a good time. Combining these with her natural athleticism, she was a cheerleader both at Katy Junior High and Katy High School where she and her friend Barbara (also a cheerleader) would swap their pom-poms for instruments and march with the band during halftime, then go back to cheering for the second half.

After finishing college at Texas A&I in 1974, Joyce taught elementary school in Katy, Cy-Fair, and Dallas until she retired in 2010. She loved her students and they loved her - there were many cute drawings of her from various admiring kids hanging in her home and saved in scrapbooks.

Joyce loved traveling and being active. She snow skied all over the country, and loved running, yoga, dancing, and Zumba. She threw great parties, sewed her own clothes, made jewelry, and always had a fun outfit - or costume if there was an event for it! She was generous with her time: after surviving breast cancer herself, she volunteered at the MD Anderson Breast Cancer Center in Houston.

A cherished daughter, sister, aunt, and friend, she loved her family and friends ferociously and will be sorely missed by all. She is preceded in death by her parents, Harry and Florine Brown. She is survived by her sisters Linda Brown Cardiff (Charles), and Sharon Brown Richardson (Michael Sandusky, III); nieces and nephews Cayla Cardiff (Andrea Pobanz), Charles Cardiff, III, Catherine Beazley (Nicholas), and Steven Richardson; spouses Harry Holcombe, III (m. 1994 - 2009) and Robert Kunicki (m. 2013 - 2022).

A celebration of her life will be held on Saturday, May 30th at 2:00 PM, at the Rally Pavilion in Houston's Memorial Park. In honor of Joyce's fun-loving spirit and fashion sense, please wear bright clothes, and bring stories! In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Susan G. Komen, Houston’s MD Anderson Cancer Center, or the Alzheimer’s Association in recognition of causes that were meaningful to her.