Joyce Maxey

JOYCE MAXEY
April 9, 1931 – May 9, 2023

Services for Joyce Maxey will be held Monday, May 15, 10:00 a.m., at Eastern Hills Baptist Church in Claremore. Visitation will be Sunday, May 14, 1:00-6:00 p.m., with family present to receive visitors from 2:00-4:00 p.m., at MMS-Payne Funeral Home in Claremore.

Donna Joyce Young Maxey, the daughter of Benjamin Franklin and Cora Ellen Chilton Young, was born April 9, 1931, near Ardmore, OK, in the community of Berwyn, which is now known as Gene Autry. She passed on to Glory at Hillcrest Medical Center in Tulsa on Tuesday, May 9, 2023, at the age of 92 years.

Joyce was the baby of 12 siblings.  She was born last in a set of twins, and had a very special relationship with her twin brother, Donald Royce. Her mother always told her that having twins made it easier because she and Royce kept each other company and where one was, she always found the other.  

Being born and raised during the Great Depression, her life would be considered difficult today.  But, Joyce said they always had plenty to eat and never knew they were poor, because all of the other families in Berwyn were poor as well. Joyce knew a lot of hardship in her life, but she never complained about it.  Rather, she would speak fondly of her early years when her family lived in a dugout and then later a house with dirt floors and walls and a tin roof, and all the wonderful times she had with her siblings and friends. 

After graduating from high school, she and her twin brother attended Oklahoma State University, where she met the love of her life, Jim Bill Maxey.  They met when Joyce was dating another guy and he asked her to arrange a blind date for his roommate (Jim Bill). After Joyce stopped dating the other guy, Jim Bill began pursuing Joyce.  Joyce found out that Jim Bill attended a dance class a couple of evenings each week.  So, she borrowed someone’s activity card and went to the class in hopes of meeting up with Jim Bill.  Prior to his arrival at class, Joyce had been paired up with another guy to dance with. When Jim Bill arrived, he thought she chose the other guy, so he left, saying he “wasn’t going to play second fiddle to anyone!” After a bit, the misunderstanding was resolved and they began dating. The rest of the story is an amazing love that lasted 64 years! 

Jim Bill and Joyce were separated for 18 months while Jim Bill was drafted into the U.S. Army, stationed in Korea. During this time, Joyce returned to Ardmore to live with her parents and work for the telephone company. By the time Jim Bill returned from Korea, she had saved enough money, a sum of around $1,700, to buy a new pickup, of which, they were very proud! Following his return home, they attended Northeastern State University, and both earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Education.  Joyce taught high school business subjects at Sequoyah High School and loved every minute of it! She was a true teacher at heart, always desiring the very best for each of her students, many of whom are life-long friends. In 1988, she retired after 32 years of teaching. It was then that she and Jim Bill began traveling, enjoying many trips to Colorado and Branson for fishing and hunting.

Always desiring to keep her mind sharp following retirement, Joyce worked part time in some local doctor’s offices and even taught some GED certification classes at Rogers State University. She then began serving as Secretary/Treasurer at her home church, Sequoyah Baptist, a position she dearly loved and held for almost 30 years.  She enjoyed spending time with her family and friends, playing card games, traveling and gardening.

Joyce is preceded in death by her loving husband, Jim Bill; son, James Michael Maxey; her parents; sisters: Claudia Kyle, Loyce Sandy and Alyne Gragg; brothers: Bill, Sandy, Ben, Henry, Woodrow, Copper, Clarence and Royce Young. 

She is survived by her daughter Lisa and husband, John Forehand, of Claremore; daughter-in-law Linda Maxey, of Claremore; four grandchildren: Heather El Ghazal of Tangier, Morocco; Heath Maxey of Tulsa; Nikki Prock and husband David, of Claremore; and Colin Forehand, of Claremore; one great grandson, Jackson Prock, of Claremore; Sisters-in-Law: Rita Young of Amarillo, TX and JoAnn Young, of Edmond, OK; many nieces and nephews; and special friends Alta Faye Rader, Richard Huffaker, Clyde Hicks, and Cheryl Fowler, all of Claremore.

Please share your memories of Joyce and view her tribute online at www.mmsfuneralhomes.com.