- Date Of Birth: July 7, 1936
- Date Of Death: March 26, 2016
- State: Michigan
Joyce passed away peacefully early Saturday morning, March 26, 2016 at Rose Arbor Hospice surrounded by her family. She was born July 7, 1936 in Chicago, IL, the only child of the late Henrik J. and Borghild M. Hoversten. On December 8, 1956, Joyce was united in marriage to Oliver Johnson and they had four children. She and her family moved from Chicago to Kalamazoo in 1969.
Joyce was employed by The Upjohn Co for most of her professional career. After an early retirement, she volunteered for The American Red Cross, helping heroes at Ground Zero in New York City the week following the 9-11 attacks in 2001. Joyce was an artist and enjoyed painting, gardening, reading, cooking, baking and being a loving mother and grandmother. Preceding her in death was her husband of 29 years, Oliver Johnson. Surviving are four children: Mark Johnson of Cary, IL, Scott (Marie) Johnson of Alpharetta, GA, Craig Johnson of Kalamazoo and Lisa (Aaron) Fender of Portage; four grandchildren, Marissa and Olivia Johnson, Corey Johnson and Lauren Fender; and her long-time companion of 16 years, Dr. James VanHare of Portage.
