Joyce Gorder July 17, 1931 - February 13, 2021

Joyce “Jo” Gorder

Joyce “Jo” Gorder passed on to her heavenly home on February 13, 2021. She was 89. Her ashes will be laid to rest on July 17, 2021 at Arlington Memorial Gardens, in Cincinnati, Ohio. The daughter of Mary Anna Coy (Bronniman) and Nelson Monroe Coy, Sr., (both buried at Arlington), Joyce June Coy was born on July 17, 1931 in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Joyce married William Leonard Woodward, Sr., in 1949 and the couple was blessed with seven children. In 1985, she married Melvin Gorder. She was preceded in death by both husbands, and survived by her children: William Leonard Woodward Jr., (Lenny), Sherry Corell, Teresa Anderson-Woodward, Karen Knox, Mike Woodward, Gail Woodward and Art Woodward. She was grandmother to seventeen children; great-grandma to twenty-four, and great-great grandma to four more.

In 2012, after living for years in Arizona, Joyce returned to Cincinnati, Ohio to provide care, comfort, support and companionship to her dear sister, Dorothy. The two sisters lived across the hall from each other at Maple Knolls Village and were inseparable until her Dorothy’s passing in 2019. Joyce remained at the home until her death.

Joyce was a devout Christian and a prayer warrior. She read scriptures every day, kept daily devotions, and prayed many times during the day, often emphasizing specific prayer requests for people she loved.

There will be a celebration of life for Joyce graveside on July 17, 2021 at 11 am at Arlington Memorial Gardens in Cincinnati, Ohio. It will take place at the Coy Family Plot, located in the garden of The Old Rugged Cross. She will be buried next to her sister, Dorothy. Brother Marshall Duke of the Springdale Nazarene Church will preside over the ceremony. Please feel free to bring a lawn chair. Refreshments provided directly after at a location to be determined.

A prolific poet, Joyce penned hundreds of poems, many of which were personally written to specific people and given to them. Her poem below, Christmas Every Day is a wonderful guide to daily living.

Christmas Every Day ©1990 Joyce Gorder
Christmas shouldn’t be just one day, when we can think of Christ and pray.
And sing those carols, oh so sweet, from house-to-house as friends we meet.
It isn’t just one time of year, if we can feel the Christ child near.
Or think about the Wise Men when they traveled far to see Him, then.
It’s not just gifts given while He lay, in a manger made of hay.
For the star that led them there that day, still shines bright above us today!
The Christmas theme we should impart, and live daily within our heart.
Is to thank God for our Savior’s birth, and pray each day for peace on earth.

Map to the Garden of Old Rugged Cross

https://bit.ly/3htTikN