Joyce R. Magee died peacefully at her home surrounded by family members in Indiana, Pennsylvania, on July 14, 2020, after a long and courageous battle with ovarian cancer.
She was born in 1935, in Tullytown, Pennsylvania, to H. Stanford and Mary Roberts. She met Richard D. Magee at Council Rock High School in 1950 and they married in 1956. After a year in London, where she taught while her husband studied at University College London on a Rotary Fellowship, she graduated from Millersville University with a Bachelor of Science in Education and later earned a Master’s degree in Special Education at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
A devoted educator of exceptional children, she stood among the earliest advocates of mainstreaming such children into the Indiana public school system. Her assignments included Eisenhower Elementary School, University School (IUP), and ARIN Intermediate Unit, where she became a supervisor of teachers in the two-county area. She kept in touch with many of her students long after they left her classroom.
She enjoyed being active in many community organizations including the New Century Club (in support of the Indiana Free Library), Arc of Indiana County, the IUP Women’s Club, the League of Women Voters, and the Indiana Chapter of American Association of University Women, which honored her this year as an AAUW Notable Woman. She was also a member of Christ Episcopal Church, Indiana.
After retiring in 1998, she enjoyed traveling widely with her husband, including trips to China, Russia, Alaska, and the United Kingdom, and across Canada. Having seen the original production of South Pacific on Broadway in the early 1950s, she remained an avid theater-goer for the rest of her life, seeing countless productions in London, New York, and Pittsburgh. She also enjoyed spending time with her family and friends in the beach community of Avalon, New Jersey. A devoted wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and colleague, she was a kind, gentle, compassionate woman of quiet strength who genuinely cared for the people in her life. Having grown up on a family farm, she cultivated her garden, planters, and pets with the same warmth and attention to detail she gave to others.
She is survived by her husband of 64 years; sons Richard D. Magee, Jr., and wife Cynthia, of Doylestown, Pennsylvania, and Jeffrey Magee and wife Gayle of Champaign, Illinois; grandchildren Katherine Weber and husband Matthias, Kevin Magee and fianc Mayaline Chabeli Zapata Morel, Ellen Magee, and Miles Magee; sister Elizabeth Fidler and husband Allen; brother-in-law Alan Magee and wife Monika; brother-in-law David Magee and wife Rosemarie, and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, brother Stanford F. Roberts, and niece Mary Helen Roberts.
Friends and family are invited to attend a graveside service on Monday, July 20,2020 at 2 p.m. at Oakland Gardens on the east side of Oakland Cemetery, Indiana, Pennsylvania. The family understands and supports anyone who decides not to attend due to health concerns.
The family would like to thank the many friends and caregivers who assisted with Joyce’s support and care, including the Visiting Nurses Association.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Foundation for The Arc of Indiana County, 120 North 5th Street, Indiana, PA 15701; and Indiana Free Library, 845 Philadelphia Street, Indiana, PA 15701.
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