Joyce Maxine Massey was born November 4, 1929, to Amy and Harvey Massey in Cromwell OK.  She passed away in her sleep August 25, 2025, in Kansas City KS at The Piper Assisted Living.  She lived in Overland Park KS for 45 years.  She was born to Amy and Harvey Massey who met in Corning KS in 1920 when Amy was outside shaking a rug during a visit from her home in Kansas City KS.  Joyce had a brother Harvey Massy Jr who was born in 1921 in Goff KS and passed August 11, 1997.  Joyce outlived two nephews, Harold Wayne, born in 1951 and Roger, born in 1952.  A grandniece, Lisa Michelle, survives Joyce. 

 

I believe a lot can be understood about a person by learning about their early years and the bond of family. 

In 1931 the family moved to Woodlawn KS and bought a 40-acre farm.  Joyce recounts the years were lean and hard, sometimes the income was only 50 cents a week. Joyce doesn’t know how it was done, but they never went hungry.  Amy trudged two blocks to carry water from a well to the house.  She heated the water on an old wood cook stove and then carried it to the wash house.  Winters saw the wash freezing in the backyard and then being brought into the kitchen where the wood stove was burning away.  Joyce still remembered what to her was the sweet smell of frozen clothes being dried.  Harvey used two horses, a couple of cows and some chickens to farm.  Naturally, there was no electricity, so the wood cook stove was used to heat the house, cook and bake.  Joyce remembers the awful heat and wonders how every stitch of clothing was ironed (no polyester).  As hard as this sounds, Joyce remembers it fondly and with a lot of wonder how her parents managed. 

 

The house in Woodlawn had a cave out back where Amy kept the potatoes and eggs.  Since there was no way to keep meat cool, there was no meat for eating until the Fall when Harvey would butcher a pig.  Meat was kept cool during the Winter by keeping it wrapped in papers and stored on the spare bedroom floor.   When there was a little money, the family would spring for lunch meat with lettuce.  “What a treat, Joyce recalls!” 

 

In 1940 Harvey Jr and a friend joined the Reserves and spent WW2 in the Aleutian Islands.  In January or February 1941 her dad let the farm go back to the lienholder and leased a Conoco filling station.  However, later that year the filling station closed due to war rationing.  Both mom and dad went to work at Bockenstead’s Hatchery which was across the street from their house.  Harvey made a dollar a day working seven days a week.  Amy also cleaned Bockenstead’s house. 

The family moved to Bethel KS where Harvey got a job at the Sunflower Ordinance Plant in Eudora, then transferred to the North American Aviation B-25 bomber plant in Fairfax.  After the war he worked at Minneapolis Moline in Fairfax and retired in 1959.  Amy worked at Montgomery Wards in Kansas City KS for many years.  After the war, the family occupied several homes in northwestern KCK.  The Masseys attended the First Baptist Church of Bethel. 

 

For school in Woodlawn grades 1-6, Joyce was the only one in her class.  She attended Sabetha School for grade 7.  Grade 8 was at the Hazel Grade School and high school was at Washington High School, a half mile walk for Joyce…better than the mile and a half walk in Woodlawn.  A look at The Hatchet, the Washington HS yearbook from the mid-forties, and all the comments from classmates and teachers show Joyce was a popular student although she was not considered a “joiner.” 

 

Joyce lived in several locations in Kansas City MO during the earliest part of her work career, mostly around The Plaza sharing accommodations with girlfriends.   In 1978 mother and daughter moved to 8409 W 83rd St in Overland Park where Joyce lived until moving to Overland Park Place in the early 2020’s. 

 

Work History 

Darby Corporation 1948-1952, Kansas City KS 

IBM Service Bureau 1952-1973, Kansas City MO 

Systronics, a data processing service bureau 1973-1995, Kansas City MO 

 

Joyce retired May 11, 1995, and mostly enjoyed a 30-year retirement 

 

Joyce documented some of her favorite memories: 

 

Perspectives 

Joyce was a bluntly honest person who, for her entire life, tried to do the right thing, help others, and keep order.  She organized everything and her home was like an office supply heaven with binders, binder clips, different colored pencils, bankers’ boxes, you name it. 

 

She was a diehard Chiefs fan who appreciated the pro game but didn’t care about college football.  She famously attended the longest American football game in NFL history -- the 1971 AFC Divisional Playoff game on Christmas Day between the Miami Dolphins and the Kansas City Chiefs which lasted 82 minutes and 40 seconds (82:40) of game time, including two overtime periods.  This was played at Municipal Stadium, 22nd and Brooklyn.  

 

Joyce was a religious person but that didn’t stop her from changing congregations.   

 

To get a smile from Joyce was a wonderfully rewarding occurrence.  She was smart, knowledgeable, and managed her household admirably. 

 

She was a volunteer at Shawnee Mission Medical Center for years. 

 

Once a friend, always a friend…even if she wasn’t speaking to you. 

 

Later years and Passing 

I don’t know the exact timeline, but Joyce suffered a fall outside her home which required a long recuperation and ended with her moving to Overland Park Place Assisted Living.  Joyce’s last outing where she could walk with the aid of a walker was a Christmas Day lunch at Kona Kai on The Plaza Christmas 2023. Joyce had another fall in February 2024, and it was subsequently discovered she needed a pacemaker.  An infection slowed progress, but the device was finally inserted July 2024 at Advent Medical Center.  There followed several attempts at rehabilitation but back problems which began in 2020, and severe arthritis made recovery too difficult to be successful.  Joyce accepted the fact she wouldn’t walk again and become an invalid Summer 2024, needing help with all daily tasks of living.  This did not stop her from telling people she was going to drive again. 

 

Joyce’s home and car were sold in the Fall of 2024.  During this time, she gave explicit instructions as to which furniture she wanted to move with her to Piper Assisted Living in 

September 2024, what could be sold, and what should be placed in storage.  Even dependent as she was, she never gave up hope of returning home and driving her car. 

 

Joyce’s hands were so arthritic she couldn’t manage to dial a phone, so she couldn’t answer a call.  Attempts to use Siri to dial a number on her cell were unsuccessful and making calls with Alexa was also too hard for her to remember.  Joyce was in the Memory Care Unit at The Piper with Dementia/Alzheimer’s, so her difficulty is understandable.   

 

Joyce enjoyed the support she received at The Piper, but her thanks were given carefully.  She would complain about the meals and then eat it all, for example.  She was visited by friends five days a week, receiving help eating, talking, and largely watching Hallmark movies during the pro football off season.   

 

On Monday, August 25, a friend, Adrienne, was with her as she dozed in and out.  The friend was close and telling her she was loved when she noticed Joyce wasn’t breathing.  Piper staff responded but the end had come. 

 

Her favorite scripture is Psalm 23, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…” 

 

Our wish for Joyce is she is reunited with her family, and friends who predeceased her, in Heaven.  We on earth will miss her. 

 

Donations are welcome to The American Heart Association at https://www.heart.org/ or 

The Alzheimer’s Association at https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia