- Date Of Birth: 1934
- Date Of Death: 2022
- State: Maryland
Mary Joyce Crouse Zeigler, formerly of Ridgely, Maryland, passed away at Arcadia Assisted Living in Denton, MD on Friday, September 02, 2022. She was 88 years old.
Born during a blizzard in the sewing room of Mill Meadows Farm, Queen Anne, MD, (now Tuckahoe Equestrian Center) on February 19, 1934, Joyce was the youngest child of Clifton Gibbel Crouse and Esther King Crouse. Growing up on the family dairy farm, she developed a deep love of animals and nature in general, which had a great influence on her future career. She also enjoyed cooking, sewing, and horseback riding.
After graduating from Ridgely High School in 1952, she married Lewis Cherry and had 2 daughters, Patti and Sue.
Joyce’s passion for a painting career began in 1959 while taking her first art lessons from Nancy Ascher in Denton, MD. She subsequently followed a lifelong study of technique and beauty, taking classes, lessons and workshops throughout the United States and Canada, especially Scottsdale, Arizona, where she forged lifelong friendships with some of the greatest contemporary Plein Air teachers and painters. In turn, she shared what she had learned and her own teaching endeavors spanned over roughly forty years..
She remarried on May 29, 1969 to Frank D. Zeigler, Jr., who helped her realize her artistic potential and dreams of travel. After working as a bank teller in Ridgely and Denton as well as Frank’s secretary in his Nationwide Insurance business in Denton, she began to enjoy biennial national and international travel with her oldest sister Helena, which lasted for several decades.
Having grown up in 4-H, Homemakers Club and in her mother’s kitchen, she mastered her culinary skills. She especially loved baking a wide variety of cookies and delighting people at innumerable social functions. She loved to entertain large groups of friends and family, trying out new recipes with an artistic tweak of ingredients that was legendary. She enjoyed highlighting her skills when she and Frank opened their home as Dunning Studio Bed and Breakfast in the early 90’s, where they entertained hundreds of guests – educators, artists, writers, musicians from all over the world.
In 1983, she and five other professional artists (Martha Hudson, Roberta (Bobbie) Seger, Mary Ekroos, Barbara Jablin and Betty Ruhl) agreed to take a trip to Smith Island, MD, to paint together. They were so productive and had so much fun that they named themselves The Traveling Brushes and traveled to scores of places over several decades, from the Chesapeake Bay area to Nantucket and Colorado. Their “sisterhood” was sustained for the rest of their lives.
In addition to her many awards, in 2015 she was presented with a Governor’s Citation from Larry Hogan’s office for 50 years of creating and sharing oil paintings depicting Maryland’s Eastern Shore scenery and wildlife. She was a charter member and annual exhibitor of the Waterfowl Festival in Easton, MD and the Oxford Fine Arts Show. Joyce also regularly exhibited in the Chestertown Wildlife Show, Chincoteague Art Show, East Carolina Wildlife Show, the Ward World Wildlife Exhibition, the Swiss Bear Wildlife Art Show , among numerous others.
She was also a member of Oil Painters of America, Plein Air Painters of America, Academy of the Arts, Working Artist Forum, Maryland Federation of Arts, Delaware Foundation of the Visual Arts, Caroline County Arts Council, and various other groups. As a member of Third Haven Society of Friends, Joyce and Frank often participated in many Peace marches in Washington, DC and New York City.
She is survived by her daughters, Patti Cherry Shaffer of Greensboro, MD, and Sue Ellen Cherry (Richard Smith) of Ridgely, MD, a step daughter, Ellen Zeigler Jones (Larry) of Richlands, NC, six grandchildren: Brian Jewel (Meredith) of Kissimmee, FL, Michael Jewell (Brianne) of Linthicum, MD, John “J.B.” Bishop (Cassie) of Goldsboro, MD, Cody Bishop (Amber) of Greensboro, MD, Wade Myers (Emily Eisenacher) of Arnold, MD, and Alex Smith of Ridgely, MD; 4 great grandchildren: Lizzie Jewell, Kyle Jewell, Damian White and Gracie Bishop. Also surviving her are 2 of her siblings, Lois Teeter of Kingman, AZ and Merle Crouse of St. Cloud, FL., and a large extended family
In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by her beloved husband on June 29, 2017, and her sister Helena Hand Bak in 2016. Her sister, Verna Calloway, passed away on September 5, 2022.
Third Haven Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 2379, Easton, MD 21601, or to
Third Haven Meeting House, P.O. Box 2379, Easton, MD 21601
