Great soul, you are with your family even now. They think about you, they miss you and yearn to be reunited with you some glad morning!

I did not know you personally, but I know your lovely daughter Atyia. She is your gift to the world, and we are forever grateful to you for her. Rest in peace!

Dearest Joyce and Family,
I have had the pleasure of being a friend of Joyce for over 40years. She was my mentor as one of the first architects in Harlem, NY and my inspiration to know wellness. Know that Joyce is one of the great minds of her time with great vision and always seeing the glass half full. I will miss our intimate sharing and calls on how our "God" mind can comfort and heal our bodies. She will be missed. She loved her beautiful daughters Anika and Atiya. Love travels through the planes of life and she will always be with you.
With Great Love....

What a wonderful friend you have been for over 40 years, in life if you have one good friend you are lucky, Joyce you are one of my best friends.

We meet in Harlem through our daughters, Atiya, Anika, Angelique and Aria. Over the years we have been great friends, Joyce loves life, talking and travelling. Sometimes we would talk for hours on the phone about everything - ourselves, children, families, real estate, stocks, current and world events.

In the mid 1980'S Joyce moved from New York City to Columbia, SC and then after about 8 to 10 years to Raleigh, NC to be close to Anika and her family and after several years Atiya also moved there.

Joyce especially enjoyed discussing current events, working on real estate and business projects, and researching her personal health issues. She was determine to find answers and cures to her health issues and after extensive investigations and many doctors visits, she discovered that she had contracted some kind of exotic disease when living in Croton on the Hudson, New York.

Over the years, we traveled to lots of places together - Georgia, Kentucky, Ohio, South and North Carolina. One of the best part of our 40 year relationship has been that we always stayed closely in touch and best of friends. Joyce has always been caring and loving, opinionated, adventurous, giving and passionate.

Joyce, your illnesses are now cured and now you can rest with God's blessings eternally. My prayers will always be with you, and your daughters, Atiya and Anika and family.

Sister! Your love still lingers on among us: your kind words, your thoughtful gestures, your wise teachings are not only memories but they are evidence that your love was genuine and heartfelt. As such the sadness and the grief that is felt now at your absence, is so much more proof that the love was real. I miss you so much, I know that you are in a better place and that is a comfort for those left in the wake of your beautiful essence. Thank you for being such a warm, dignified, gentle and sharing Mother in law. You defined that role for me and I am a better person because you cared. I send gratitude and thanks for you!

A friend from Unity Church of Raleigh sent me several meaningful pieces. I want to share this one:

The Dragonfly

Once, in a little pond, in the muddy water under the lily pads, there lived a little water beetle in a community of water beetles. They lived a simple and comfortable life in the pond with few disturbances and interruptions.

Once in a while, sadness would come to the community when one of their fellow beetles would climb the stem of a lily pad and would never be seen again. They knew when this happened; their friend had died and gone forever.

Then, one day, one little water beetle felt an irresistible urge to climb up that stem. However, he was determined that he would not leave forever. He would come back and tell his friends what he had found at the top.

When he reached the top and climbed out of the water onto the surface of the lily pad, he was so tired, and the sun felt so warm, that he decided he must take a nap. As he slept, his body changed and when he woke up, he had turned into a beautiful blue-tailed dragonfly with broad wings and a slender body designed for flying.

So, fly he did! And, as he soared he saw the beauty of a whole new world and a far superior way of life to what he had never known existed.

Then he remembered his beetle friends and how they were thinking by now he was dead. He wanted to go back to tell them, and explain to them that he was now more alive than he had ever been before. His life had been fulfilled rather than ended.

But, his new body would not go down into the water. He could not get back to tell his friends the good news. Then he understood that their time would come, when they, too, would know what he now knew. So, he raised his wings and flew off into his joyous new life!

~Author Unknown~

Aunt Joyce has always been one of the most impact full women in my life. She went into a career at a time that was unheard of for women of color, let alone a woman at all. Over the years, I have told her story to countless friends and acquaintances. Her fortitude has given me the courage and determination to accomplish many things in my life I wouldn’t have thought possible. I will keep her in my heart always. Love you, Aunt Joyce.

Chris and I called into Silent Unity the morning before my mother passed. They sent the following letter to us:

Dear Atiya,
  
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you." We trust that you feel the peace of God's love gently enfolding you as we pray together.

Rest assured that you and your mother are one in God's love--the love that connects you heart to heart and soul to soul--now and forever. Our prayer is that you find peace as you place your mother in God's eternal care.

As you face this difficult time, we are sending you a prayerful blessing of peace. We love you, and we are here for you whenever you need us.

          In peace,

          Silent Unity

PS: For additional prayer support and to read inspirational articles, please go to .

I share the same note that I wrote on FB. Aunt Joyce was an African-American woman raised in Harlem during the turbulent sixties. She was politically-conscious and socially responsible. She was an architect - I think, still the only black woman architect whom I know. She was also a corporate executive at Ma Bell for years. We used to have lunch in Chinatown and she would advise me on work-life balance. 

I remember when we first realized something was wrong with her health - at my sister's bridal and cousin's baby shower. Aunt Joyce was having difficulty walking and did not indicate that she knew what was going on. That was in 1989. About seven or eight years ago, she checked herself out of a healthcare facility, put herself on a plane, and came to Atlanta so as not to miss a family reunion. And, that was pretty much her 'story' since I have known her. While we held our breath, Aunt Joyce plugged along.  She rarely let on how bad it was. Hence, I describe her as a woman of faith and warrior for hope.

My cousins, Anika and Atiya are extraordinary. Graceful. Positive. Gentle. Forgiving. Highly, highly intelligent. They epitomize the saying that the apple does not fall far from the tree. I thank my cousin-in-law, Kelly, for being there for his mother-in-law and our Aunt.

This past summer, my sister and her family and I visited the Mosley-Olaleye-McClendon clan. I remember my teenage niece, Brooke, in the midst of playing around with my her four sibblings, saying to me in 11 of the most poignant and simple words one could say or hear. These 11 words conjure a picture with many colors, layers and fabrics. A picture of sheer, naked, simple beauty: 

"I like to visit my Nana. She has so much wisdom!"

Ms. Joyce, I did not have the pleasure of getting to know you in person. Through getting to know my friend Atiya, I feel on some level we know each other well, indeed. And on that level I can say with no exaggeration, that you have been and continue to be a blessing to this world and to many of us who live here. I wish you and your family peace, joy and love. Always.

I have such fond memories of my Aunt Joyce! She was all about family, wanting to make sure we connected as often as possible. She was one of the primary initiators of our family reunions, trying to manage the rest of us so we would not let them lapse. Aunt Joyce was intelligent and I always felt challenged when in her presence. She asked thoughtful questions and expected thoughtful answers in return. She was direct and would tell you what was on her mind. Again, she expected the same in return. Aunt Joyce cared---about her family, community and the world. She was strong, confident, determined and loving. I will miss my Aunt Joyce! Love you always!