- Date Of Birth: December 21, 1935
- Date Of Death: April 2, 2018
- State: Indiana
Joyce Faith Kincer Herron, nurse, wife and mother, grew up in the hills of Eastern Kentucky and spent much of her life traveling the world. She devoted herself to her family – those related by blood and those she gathered to her over the years.
She died April 2nd from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. She was 82.
Joyce was born in Mayking, Letcher County, Kentucky and grew up in and around Whitesburg, KY before attending nursing school in Lexington, KY. There, she met and married J. Dudley Herron of Providence, KY, with whom she spent nearly 62 years.
In 1968, Joyce’s first-born, James Dudley Herron, II, died from a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of eleven. Upon hearing an off-hand comment from the boy’s pediatrician that he would be an excellent candidate to be a heart donor, Joyce brought the suggestion to her husband and family. Together, they decided that the pain of James’ death would somehow lessen its sting if his organs could be used to help another person live a longer, healthier life. James’ heart was transplanted into Maria Generis, who gained one extra week of life.
Joyce continued to devote her time to health care, even after she stopped nursing. She served as a leader in Stephen Ministry, became a hospice volunteer, and assisted overseas medical missions. She joined the IU Medical Center’s Alzheimer’s disease study, participated in their research for several years, and donated her brain to them upon her death.
Joyce was not shy about sharing her deeply held opinions.
She is survived by her husband, J. Dudley Herron, of West Lafayette, her sons, Keith Herron & Anne Pasquale, of New York, NY, Alan & Chris Herron, of Aurora, CO, and her grandsons, Alex Herron of Los Angeles, CA, and TJ & Brittney Herron, of McLean, VA, as well as her brother, Ronald Kincer, of Lexington, KY, her sisters, Marsha Banks, of Whitesburg, KY, and Karion Amburgey, of Lexington, KY.
