Joyce M Bailey-Scieszka

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:17-18

On June 23, 2024, a beautiful and warm Sunday, a celebration in Heaven began as Joyce M. Bailey-Scieszka took her first steps into her eternal life. Joyce is remembered with love by her family. She is survived by her daughter Daphne Horger and son-in-law Ed, daughter Sabrina Sellers and son-in-law Greg, granddaughter Ashlie Sorum and her husband Michael, granddaughter Victoria Hutton and her husband Matt, granddaughter Hannah Sellers, granddaughter Jocelyn Duguid, and granddaughter Julie Horger, as well as her great-grandchildren Braxton, Leeum, Adaline, Autumn, and Jameson.

 It is a comfort for her family to share that Joyce is no longer suffering from Alzheimer’s, and was greeted with love at the gates of Heaven by her youngest daughter, Christine, who passed two years before Joyce. 

Joyce was born on March 8, 1941 in Washington D.C., and spent the beginning of her life in Arlington, Virgina. As an only child raised by a single mother and her Nana, Joyce was instilled with the values of hard work, independence, and a love for shopping. Sugar, her Nana would call her, we can’t leave until we’ve touched everything in this store… A piece of advice Joyce would carry with her through the years.

While living in Virginia, Joyce met her husband of twenty-five years, the late Lou Scieszka, and the pair eventually moved to Arizona when Lou was stationed at the Luke Air Force Base. 

Joyce called Arizona home for the majority of her years, and it was there that she raised her three daughters, Daphne, Sabrina, and Christine. Joyce’s days with her family were spent running from softball games and Peter Piper Pizza to Girl Scout meetings and 11:15 Mass at St. Louis the King Parish. A devout Catholic, Joyce sang in her church’s choir and never missed a Sunday service. Her favorite Saint was Saint Anthony, to whom she would frequently pray, asking for his help in finding all the things she lost… which was most often her glasses. 

Joyce made sure her daughters walked the same path and enrolled them in Catholic school. Every picture day, Joyce did her best Shirley Temple curls for her girls, dressed them in fancy dresses and hats every Easter, and attended Midnight Mass as a family every Christmas Eve.

If ever there was a cause for celebration or a need for a cheer-up after a rough day, Joyce’s go-to answer was McDonald’s twenty-five cent hot fudge sundaes. She loved homemade spaghetti, German chocolate cake, and was a firm believer in always saving room for dessert. Joyce loved to crochet and bake, especially Mom-mom Ann’s pound cake and raisin bread. Her favorite artist was Elvis Presley, whose shows she would go to with her best friend, Ernie Hernandez, whenever they had the chance, and she could never read enough of James Patterson’s Alex Cross series.

Joyce could spend hours sitting outside. She would sit on her glider, admiring the rose bushes and taking in the serene, quiet beauty of the world. Her beloved dogs, Gracie and Trooper were always by her side. As an animal lover, Joyce adopted her dog Gracie from the local shelter, and took in her daughter Christine’s dog, Trooper, after her daughter’s passing. 

While she was quick to remind those around her that she was an only child and enjoyed doing things on her own, family meant everything to Joyce. Some of her favorite times were spent at family cook-outs and pool parties or going to the boardwalk with her family in Baltimore. Even after her kids had kids of their own, Joyce made sure to attend family dinners at least once a week and accompanied her family to the farmer’s market wearing her favorite hat. She surprised and delighted everyone she met with silly quips that kept them laughing for days afterward.

During the last few months of her life, Joyce moved into the Sellers’ home where she was surrounded by love and family, including her granddaughters and great-grandkids. Joyce’s family cared for her, and Joyce cared for them. Even as her Alzheimer’s progressed, Joyce was still able to relive cherished memories with her Nana and her Baltimore family; she shared these stories and legacies with her family, who now carry Joyce’s stories within them.

Above all, Joyce’s family will miss her early morning calls, her soft skin, her handwriting, and her quiet but steadfast love and support. They ask that all those who were lucky enough to have Joyce touch their lives try to experience life the best way Joyce knew how: don’t leave until you’ve touched everything.

A Mass in Joyce’s honor will be held Wednesday, July 10th at 11:00 am at St. Helen Roman Catholic Parish. 5510 W. Cholla St. Glendale, AZ 85304.