Frances Joyce Cleveland Lenz

Frances Joyce (Cleveland) Lenz, age 87, a longtime resident of Punta Gorda, passed away peacefully on February 20, 2025. She was born in Punta Gorda on February 24, 1937, the daughter of William and Clyde (Kinney) Cleveland and granddaughter of early Punta Gorda residents, Cleve and Jean (Whiteaker) Cleveland. Known as Joyce to her friends and family, she grew up in Punta Gorda, joined the Navy, and returned after retiring at the rank of CPO/E7. After her Navy career, Joyce attended Edison College to become a LPN, followed by earning her RN. Joyce cherished her family roots in Punta Gorda, especially the house where she lived as a young girl with Grandma Cleveland. When the house was totaled after Hurricane Charlie, Joyce chose instead to restore it. She expressed her compassion for others by serving in the Secular Franciscans and providing home care for Grandma Cleveland and, later, for her uncles, U. S. Cleveland and Max Cleveland. Joyce was preceded in death by her grandparents and parents, her brother, William Kenneth, and her sister, Lois Jean (Cleveland) Morgan. She will be missed by her close friends, nieces and nephews, and cousins. Graveside service at Charlotte Memorial Gardens at 11 AM on March 14, 2025. Donations in lieu of flowers can be made to the Secular Franciscans or St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church.