Elephants and dolls will be in attendance when Joyce Syfert is memorialized Friday. Generations of Las Crucens who have benefitted from the good works of this "Professional Volunteer" will likely show up as well. Joyce Syfert, 67, of Las Cruces, died Sunday, Jan. 13, 2008 at Mountain View Regional Medical Center in Las Cruces, N.M. She was in the company of family and friends in her last hours following a battle with cancer.
Syfert, born in Dalton, Georgia, followed her Air Force parents Ila Nance Harmon and Sgt. John Harmon to various posts throughout her early life. She graduated high school on base in Puerto Rico before landing at Biggs AFB in El Paso, TX where her father was assigned. She joined the White Sands Missile Range community as a secretary. There she met her husband of 42 years, Oscar Syfert.
A Halloween encounter "spurred by mutual volunteerism with the local Jaycees service club" led to an impromptu proposal and a lifelong love. "The weekend of Halloween ... we had a Jaycees party in Carlsbad and I came back by her apartment in El Paso and she wasn't there," her husband said. "I sat in the parking lot Friday night waiting while she was out at parties. Saturday night we came up to Las Cruces, stayed in my apartment here and got some rings and we went to Las Vegas. We got there about midnight and got married. After the ceremony we saw a show by Don Rickels."
When Joyce had her first child she turned her managerial skills toward the public good, spending her time volunteering for numerous organizations. The Jaycees, Republican Women's Club, Rio Grande Girl Scout Council, International Order of Rainbow for Girls, Order of the Eastern Star, Scottish Rite Women, St. Paul's United Methodist Church, Southern New Mexico State State Fair, Las Cruces Sister Cities-Nienburg, the county fair, and local knitting, crochet and needlepoint clubs were graced by her presence.
Behind it all was her dedication to volunteerism, her belief in civility and her resolve that women should, indeed, be fair "but absolutely equal and her girls should be raised to be such women."
"Giving girls their grace and their dignity," is how Sarah phrased it. "She took her administrative experience and turned it to volunteerism through Masonic beliefs and values," Sarah said. Because of that, she did a lot of good in the community. She was not "just a home-maker". That is why she called herself a "professional volunteer". It was really important to her that us girls became strong women.
A memorial service, set for 2 PM Friday at St. Paul's United Methodist Church, will include the elephants and dolls Joyce picked up on her travels, including trips to Nienburg, Germany, which is a sister city to Las Cruces, thanks largely to her efforts. Grave side to follow will be in Eastern Star tradition. All Girl Scouts are encouraged to come wearing their uniforms. In leu of flowers people are encouraged to donate money to one of her favorite charities, such as Montosa Camp Association (30 Campbell Ln, Los Lunas, NM 87031), or to find a Girl Scout and buy some cookies in her memory possibly to send to the troops overseas.
Joyce Syfert is survived by her husband, Oscar, of the family home; daughters Naomi Foreman and Sarah Heartsong, grandchildren Kelsie and Lucas Foreman, and Trianna Valigura; brother Phillip Smith of Washington; aunts Fleta Pruett of El Paso, Texas; Caroline Love of Sheffeld, Alabama, with her husband Marshall; Clara ‘Toppie' Griffin and Norman Nance both of Tunnel Hill, Georgia; Bruce Nance, Chickamauga, Georgia; ‘Dillie' Dru Willie Edwards of Ringold, Georgia.
Syfert, born in Dalton, Georgia, followed her Air Force parents Ila Nance Harmon and Sgt. John Harmon to various posts throughout her early life. She graduated high school on base in Puerto Rico before landing at Biggs AFB in El Paso, TX where her father was assigned. She joined the White Sands Missile Range community as a secretary. There she met her husband of 42 years, Oscar Syfert.
A Halloween encounter "spurred by mutual volunteerism with the local Jaycees service club" led to an impromptu proposal and a lifelong love. "The weekend of Halloween ... we had a Jaycees party in Carlsbad and I came back by her apartment in El Paso and she wasn't there," her husband said. "I sat in the parking lot Friday night waiting while she was out at parties. Saturday night we came up to Las Cruces, stayed in my apartment here and got some rings and we went to Las Vegas. We got there about midnight and got married. After the ceremony we saw a show by Don Rickels."
When Joyce had her first child she turned her managerial skills toward the public good, spending her time volunteering for numerous organizations. The Jaycees, Republican Women's Club, Rio Grande Girl Scout Council, International Order of Rainbow for Girls, Order of the Eastern Star, Scottish Rite Women, St. Paul's United Methodist Church, Southern New Mexico State State Fair, Las Cruces Sister Cities-Nienburg, the county fair, and local knitting, crochet and needlepoint clubs were graced by her presence.
Behind it all was her dedication to volunteerism, her belief in civility and her resolve that women should, indeed, be fair "but absolutely equal and her girls should be raised to be such women."
"Giving girls their grace and their dignity," is how Sarah phrased it. "She took her administrative experience and turned it to volunteerism through Masonic beliefs and values," Sarah said. Because of that, she did a lot of good in the community. She was not "just a home-maker". That is why she called herself a "professional volunteer". It was really important to her that us girls became strong women.
A memorial service, set for 2 PM Friday at St. Paul's United Methodist Church, will include the elephants and dolls Joyce picked up on her travels, including trips to Nienburg, Germany, which is a sister city to Las Cruces, thanks largely to her efforts. Grave side to follow will be in Eastern Star tradition. All Girl Scouts are encouraged to come wearing their uniforms. In leu of flowers people are encouraged to donate money to one of her favorite charities, such as Montosa Camp Association (30 Campbell Ln, Los Lunas, NM 87031), or to find a Girl Scout and buy some cookies in her memory possibly to send to the troops overseas.
Joyce Syfert is survived by her husband, Oscar, of the family home; daughters Naomi Foreman and Sarah Heartsong, grandchildren Kelsie and Lucas Foreman, and Trianna Valigura; brother Phillip Smith of Washington; aunts Fleta Pruett of El Paso, Texas; Caroline Love of Sheffeld, Alabama, with her husband Marshall; Clara ‘Toppie' Griffin and Norman Nance both of Tunnel Hill, Georgia; Bruce Nance, Chickamauga, Georgia; ‘Dillie' Dru Willie Edwards of Ringold, Georgia.
Elephants and dolls will be in attendance when Joyce Syfert is memorialized Friday. Generations of Las Crucens who have benefitted from the good works of this "Professional Volunteer" will likely show up as well. Joyce Syfert, 67, of Las Cruces, died Sunday, Jan. 13, 2008 at Mountain View Regional Medical Center in Las Cruces, N.M. She was in the company of family and friends in her last hours following a battle with cancer.
Syfert, born in Dalton, Georgia, followed her Air Force parents Ila Nance Harmon and Sgt. John Harmon to various posts throughout her early life. She graduated high school on base in Puerto Rico before landing at Biggs AFB in El Paso, TX where her father was assigned. She joined the White Sands Missile Range community as a secretary. There she met her husband of 42 years, Oscar Syfert.
A Halloween encounter "spurred by mutual volunteerism with the local Jaycees service club" led to an impromptu proposal and a lifelong love. "The weekend of Halloween ... we had a Jaycees party in Carlsbad and I came back by her apartment in El Paso and she wasn't there," her husband said. "I sat in the parking lot Friday night waiting while she was out at parties. Saturday night we came up to Las Cruces, stayed in my apartment here and got some rings and we went to Las Vegas. We got there about midnight and got married. After the ceremony we saw a show by Don Rickels."
When Joyce had her first child she turned her managerial skills toward the public good, spending her time volunteering for numerous organizations. The Jaycees, Republican Women's Club, Rio Grande Girl Scout Council, International Order of Rainbow for Girls, Order of the Eastern Star, Scottish Rite Women, St. Paul's United Methodist Church, Southern New Mexico State State Fair, Las Cruces Sister Cities-Nienburg, the county fair, and local knitting, crochet and needlepoint clubs were graced by her presence.
Behind it all was her dedication to volunteerism, her belief in civility and her resolve that women should, indeed, be fair "but absolutely equal and her girls should be raised to be such women."
"Giving girls their grace and their dignity," is how Sarah phrased it. "She took her administrative experience and turned it to volunteerism through Masonic beliefs and values," Sarah said. Because of that, she did a lot of good in the community. She was not "just a home-maker". That is why she called herself a "professional volunteer". It was really important to her that us girls became strong women.
A memorial service, set for 2 PM Friday at St. Paul's United Methodist Church, will include the elephants and dolls Joyce picked up on her travels, including trips to Nienburg, Germany, which is a sister city to Las Cruces, thanks largely to her efforts. Grave side to follow will be in Eastern Star tradition. All Girl Scouts are encouraged to come wearing their uniforms. In leu of flowers people are encouraged to donate money to one of her favorite charities, such as Montosa Camp Association (30 Campbell Ln, Los Lunas, NM 87031), or to find a Girl Scout and buy some cookies in her memory possibly to send to the troops overseas.
Joyce Syfert is survived by her husband, Oscar, of the family home; daughters Naomi Foreman and Sarah Heartsong, grandchildren Kelsie and Lucas Foreman, and Trianna Valigura; brother Phillip Smith of Washington; aunts Fleta Pruett of El Paso, Texas; Caroline Love of Sheffeld, Alabama, with her husband Marshall; Clara ‘Toppie' Griffin and Norman Nance both of Tunnel Hill, Georgia; Bruce Nance, Chickamauga, Georgia; ‘Dillie' Dru Willie Edwards of Ringold, Georgia.
Syfert, born in Dalton, Georgia, followed her Air Force parents Ila Nance Harmon and Sgt. John Harmon to various posts throughout her early life. She graduated high school on base in Puerto Rico before landing at Biggs AFB in El Paso, TX where her father was assigned. She joined the White Sands Missile Range community as a secretary. There she met her husband of 42 years, Oscar Syfert.
A Halloween encounter "spurred by mutual volunteerism with the local Jaycees service club" led to an impromptu proposal and a lifelong love. "The weekend of Halloween ... we had a Jaycees party in Carlsbad and I came back by her apartment in El Paso and she wasn't there," her husband said. "I sat in the parking lot Friday night waiting while she was out at parties. Saturday night we came up to Las Cruces, stayed in my apartment here and got some rings and we went to Las Vegas. We got there about midnight and got married. After the ceremony we saw a show by Don Rickels."
When Joyce had her first child she turned her managerial skills toward the public good, spending her time volunteering for numerous organizations. The Jaycees, Republican Women's Club, Rio Grande Girl Scout Council, International Order of Rainbow for Girls, Order of the Eastern Star, Scottish Rite Women, St. Paul's United Methodist Church, Southern New Mexico State State Fair, Las Cruces Sister Cities-Nienburg, the county fair, and local knitting, crochet and needlepoint clubs were graced by her presence.
Behind it all was her dedication to volunteerism, her belief in civility and her resolve that women should, indeed, be fair "but absolutely equal and her girls should be raised to be such women."
"Giving girls their grace and their dignity," is how Sarah phrased it. "She took her administrative experience and turned it to volunteerism through Masonic beliefs and values," Sarah said. Because of that, she did a lot of good in the community. She was not "just a home-maker". That is why she called herself a "professional volunteer". It was really important to her that us girls became strong women.
A memorial service, set for 2 PM Friday at St. Paul's United Methodist Church, will include the elephants and dolls Joyce picked up on her travels, including trips to Nienburg, Germany, which is a sister city to Las Cruces, thanks largely to her efforts. Grave side to follow will be in Eastern Star tradition. All Girl Scouts are encouraged to come wearing their uniforms. In leu of flowers people are encouraged to donate money to one of her favorite charities, such as Montosa Camp Association (30 Campbell Ln, Los Lunas, NM 87031), or to find a Girl Scout and buy some cookies in her memory possibly to send to the troops overseas.
Joyce Syfert is survived by her husband, Oscar, of the family home; daughters Naomi Foreman and Sarah Heartsong, grandchildren Kelsie and Lucas Foreman, and Trianna Valigura; brother Phillip Smith of Washington; aunts Fleta Pruett of El Paso, Texas; Caroline Love of Sheffeld, Alabama, with her husband Marshall; Clara ‘Toppie' Griffin and Norman Nance both of Tunnel Hill, Georgia; Bruce Nance, Chickamauga, Georgia; ‘Dillie' Dru Willie Edwards of Ringold, Georgia.
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