Joyce Wood

JOYCE WOOD

Joyce Wood was born in Manhattan, New York on Monday, September 22, 1941. She was the beloved daughter of Catherine and Raymond Wood and grew up in the Bronx, New York, alongside her two brothers, Leroy and Raymond. The family was passionate about music. Catherine and Raymond began teaching their three children to play the violin and piano from the ages of 6 years old.

Joyce was a lifelong learner and educator. She studied at Fairleigh Dickinson University, where her passion for knowledge and teaching flourished. She devoted more than 20 years of her life to East Side High School, where she touched countless lives as a dedicated and compassionate teacher. Her students often remembered her as someone who not only taught them about subjects but also about life-instilling values of hard work, resilience, and curiosity.

Joyce was the proud mother of three children and the cherished grandmother of six grandchildren, all of whom were the light of her life. Family was everything to her, and she showed her love through her actions-always selflessly putting others first.

Known for her sharp tongue and quick wit, Joyce could effortlessly make those around her laugh and think deeply all at once. She was a master of crossword puzzles, Sudoku, chess, and she loved the challenge of classic, old-school computer games. Joyce also had an adventurous streak and a love of travel that took her across the world to places such as the Bahamas in the Caribbean, London and Windsor in England and Paris, France. Yet, despite the many adventures she embarked on at home and abroad, Joyce was a fiercely private person and she hated having her picture taken for any reason or under any circumstance.

Though Joyce is no longer with us, her spirit of kindness, generosity, and selfless dedication to her loved ones will continue to live on in the hearts of all those she touched. A daughter, sister, aunt, auntie, mother, and grandmother, Joyce leaves behind a legacy of love. She will be dearly missed but never forgotten.