How does one sum up a life like Joy Willson’s? It is not enough to count all 77 years of her life. It is not enough to reflect on the 186 children she lovingly cared for as a foster mother. Even the lives of her 3 children, 4 grandchildren, or 9 great-grandchildren cannot possibly tally up the impact a life like Joy’s has made on the world, for Joy was an incomparable source of goodness.
The entirety of Muskegon knew her by the name she so embodied, her boisterous voice, her freckled smile, and her vibrant testimony. She was righteous in the Lord without indignation, granting us all the space necessary to shape ourselves into what she knew God had planned for us each. She loved people in the unique way each of us needed, somehow tapping into our inner void to fill us with the same love she promised the Lord had for us all.
And she was joyful. She brought joy into every room, and every life, she entered.
She was the best of Christians. The best of mothers. The best of wives. The best of friends. The best of women.
She was the best of any of us.
Joy’s life is celebrated by her daughters Janet (& Terrence) Williams and Carrie (& James) Seewald; her grandchildren Nate Seewald, Heith Seewald, Terrence Williams, and Joy Davis; her 9 grandchildren; her sister Vila Lee (& Mike) Rakovits; her lifelong friend Marva Duram-Raymond; and the countless others whose lives were made better by knowing Joy. We know she was ready to reunite with her first husband Jim Seewald, her son Jimmy Seewald, her second husband Ken Wilson, and her beloved chihuahua Muttlee in the arms of the Lord.
May the Joy she brought to everyone continue on in the way we live our own lives.
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