Cecille Joyce Davis, 92, passed away peacefully on June 15.
The eldest of three children, she was born on June 3, 1933, in Greeley, Colorado, to Dorothea (Jones) and Herman Kliewer. While her mother followed their Scottish family tradition of naming the first daughter Cecille, she had decided by kindergarten that it wasn’t for her and went by Joyce for the rest of her life.
Joyce attended Colorado State College of Education before marrying Bertram Grable in 1954. The couple lived in State College, Pennsylvania, and later Dover, Delaware, where Bertram served in the U.S. Air Force as a meteorologist. They had two children, Joan and James, before divorcing in 1961.
She completed her education at the University of Northern Colorado, ultimately earning a Doctor of Education degree. Joyce served as a professor and department chair at UNC, and in 1979, she married Richard Davis. The couple moved to Portales, New Mexico, where Joyce joined the faculty at Eastern New Mexico University as chair of the Department of Family, Consumer Science, and Agriculture.
Following her retirement in 1998, she embraced a second career as a volunteer, serving as director of Habitat for Humanity of Roosevelt and Curry Counties. Her name became synonymous with Habitat in Portales, and the work brought her deep joy and purpose.
In 2015, Joyce moved to Montana to be closer to her children. She found new fulfillment in volunteering at the Museum of the Rockies as a docent in the Tinsley House and was an active member of Trinity Church in Bozeman, where she made many close friends.
She is survived by her children, Joan Macdonald and James Grable; her stepdaughter, Jeanette (Tom) Cole; her grandchildren, Kaitlin and Ian Macdonald and Hannah Grable; her step-grandchildren, Katrina, Melody, Timothy (Cecelia), and Steven (Jennifer) Cole; her sister, Janet Chesnut; her brother, David Kliewer; and four step-great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Richard; and her stepsons, Richard and Robert Davis.
A Memorial Service will be held at 11:00 am on Tuesday, June 24th at The Springs in Bozeman. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Habitat for Humanity.
Arrangements are in the care of Dokken-Nelson Funeral Service. www.dokkennelson.com
