Joyce Michels

Joyce Elaine Michels, of Lake Orion, Michigan, age 95, died in her home on March 21, 2018. On this day, Joyce found peace, following her valiant and sustained effort to live with the complications of Alzheimer’s disease. Joyce was born in Detroit, Michigan on September 11, 1922, to Joseph and Emily Philips. Joyce’s father died when she was nine, at the height of the Depression; her brothers, Wesley and Jack, were eleven and seven. Emily went on to save her Detroit home and provided for her children with fierce determination, at times holding three jobs. Equally determined, Joyce assumed responsibility for her brothers and the household. Both brothers served in the U.S. Navy during WWII. Jack, at 17, lost his life at sea. In 1939, at 17, Joyce met the love of her life, Howard Anthony Michels (Howie) of Detroit, then 21. During their courtship, Joyce worked at Kinsel Drug Store and later for the Excello Corporation. In June 1941, Howie enlisted in the U.S. Army, serving with distinction through September 1945, earning five bronze stars. Joyce and Howie wed in 1943 and were married for nearly 60 years until his death in 2003. Joyce’s mother remarried in 1944, wedding Clyde Arnold Smith of Chicago, whom she met at Excello, where both worked until their retirement. Clyde was known thereafter, to Joyce and her extended family and friends, as Grandpa. Emily came to be known as Mitzie to all of Joyce and Howie’s children. Joyce and Howie moved to Lake Orion in 1955 with two young sons, joining the St. Joseph Catholic Church community. Lake Orion was their home for the rest of their lives. They went on to have two more sons and a daughter. Joyce worked at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church for many years as housekeeper, preparing meals and providing for the domestic needs of a generation of clergymen. Joyce was preceded in death, in addition to her beloved Howie, parents and brother Jack, by her brother Wesley, Howie’s eleven siblings and their spouses, her infant son, Howard Anthony II and a beloved granddaughter, Mitzi Michels, daughter of Jack and Linda Michels. Joyce is survived by her sons and daughter; Barry (Barbara), Jack (Linda), Michelle and Joseph (Kim Slabinski); grandchildren Monique (Steve), Christopher (Kerri), Michelene (Craig), Leigh (Shane), Gretchen (Phil); and great-grandchildren Haille, Aveline, Gracie (Mitzi Grace), Klaire, Addison, Grayson, Liam, Genevieve, Cole and Caleb. Visitation: Monday, March 26, 2018, 3:00 pm to 8:00 pm, rosary 7:00 pm. Sparks Griffin Funeral Home, 111 E. Flint St., Lake Orion, Michigan. Funeral Services: Tuesday, March 27, 2018, 11:00 am, St. Joseph Catholic Church, 715 N. Lapeer Rd, Lake Orion, Michigan. Joyce will be laid to rest beside her husband at Square Lake Cemetery in Lake Orion. Luncheon will follow at 1:00 pm at Paint Creek Country Club, 2375 Stanton Rd., Lake Orion, Michigan. Memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.