1940 – 2013
Woodstock – Joyce S. Wiza, 73, of Lebanon Hill Rd., formerly of Thompson, died Friday, December 6, 2013 in Harrington Memorial Hospital. Joyce was a long time resident of New Hampshire prior to moving to Connecticut 8 years ago. She was the loving wife of the late Dr. Joseph L. Wiza. Born in Boston, MA, she was the daughter of the late William Foote and Kathleen (King) Whyte. Her father, William, was a noted scholar and writer and was most famous for his book Street Corner Society. Joyce spent her childhood years in Trumansburg, NY and traveled to Venezuela with her parents during sociological studies.
Mrs. Wiza earned a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from Swarthmore College in 1962. She chose to marry a man whose passion was far from hers, as Joseph was a nuclear physicist. Joyce was a passionate political activist who served in many leadership roles over the years which included being President of her local chapters of League of Women Voters and National Organization for Women and actively participating in several political action committees. She was also an avid gardener and a member of several gardening clubs. In recent years she enjoyed classes at the local community college, QVCC in the Learning in Retirement Program.
Joyce is survived by her sons, Joseph C. Wiza of North Grafton, MA and Mark E. Wiza of South Lake Tahoe, CA; her daughters, Rachel Wiza-Reyes and her husband Ben Reyes of Woodstock, and Alison Wiza of Putnam, her brothers, Dr. Martin Whyte of Acton, MA, and Dr. John Whyte of Philadelphia, PA; her sister, Dr. Lucy Whyte-Ferguson of Taos, NM; ten grandchildren; and one great grandchild. She was deeply fond of her sibling’s partners, Tom Wilson Weinberg, Alice Hogan Whyte and Allen Ferguson and all of their children. She was pre-deceased by her brother Bruce Whyte.
Relatives and friends are invited to a funeral service for Joyce at 3:00 pm on Friday, December 13, 2013 in the East Woodstock Congregational Church, 220 Woodstock Rd. East Woodstock, CT. Arrangements are entrusted to the Gilman Funeral Home.
Memorial donations may be made to the Epilepsy Foundation of New England, 540 Gallivan Boulevard, Boston, MA. 02124. For memorial guestbook visit www.GilmanAndValade.com.
Sharon & Bert Doyen
Our thoughts and prayers go out to all the family of Joyce Wiza. Especially to Rachel, Ben, Joelle, and Cassie. I am glad you had such a lovely lady in your life.
Bob Hill
Rachel;
Please accept my thoughts and prayers, and know that she will be remembered in my prayers each day. Stay strong, and if you need, please do not hesitate to ask.
Bob and Gary
Donna Lapenas
Thinking of you and your family at this time, and wishing happy memories are a comfort.
Abigail King Cohen
My thoughts are with Joyce’s family and my cousins at this time.
“A death is not the extinguishing of a light, but the putting out of the lamp because the dawn has come.” Unknown
May you see the Dawn.
Abby
Gwyneth Tillen
I met Joyce at LiR, QVCC.when we were attending the Short
Story class. Joyce was a valuable member who contributed so much.
We were also together at Stew and Story evenings hosted by the Inn at Woodstock Hill. Joyce was a delightful person and will always be missed.
Ron and I send our sympathy to all family members and friends.
Chris King
I followed Joyce to Swarthmore and take inspiration from her courageous stance in fighting injustice and struggling against her own illness. She has also created a beautiful big family.
Chris
Adam Whyte
I will greatly miss my Aunt Joyce. I found her politics and causes to be very noble and very compatible with my own. I will miss her FB posts which showed her true passion for truth and justice. She will always have a place in my thoughts when I watch others struggling to be free. Love to all my cousins, we are family.
Cousin Adam
Cynthia Iwanczuk
Alison, my heart goes out to you and your family on the loss of your mother. From reading her obituary I can see that she was very passionate about those things that she believed in. You, too, have shown that passion in your involvement in Follow The Fifty as Ruby. Bless you!