In Memoriam: Joyce Lee Black
On Saturday, March 12, 2005, Joyce Lee Black, born in Hampstead, Maryland, passed away at the Carroll Hospice Center after a stubborn illness. Joyce and her husband, Gene, were founding and charter members of the Mason-Dixon Chapter when it was organized in October 1981. She had held several positions in the chapter including membership chair, chairman of the Club Table at our Annual Shows and Sales, chapter secretary, and she had been chapter treasurer for the past eighteen years. Her expertise kept our chapter in the "black" through three District Meetings and many Annual Shows and Sales.
Joyce was not a hands-on propagator but she always bought innumerable cuttings and plants and encouraged her husband Gene to stick and grow them on for our Chapter Sales. For many years she was also our unofficial "Refreshment Chairman" seeing that drinks and goodies were provided to fortify the members and she helped to create a warm, social and welcoming atmosphere for new and old members alike. For all these contributions and more, the chapter honored her with the Bronze Medal in 1997 at the last District Meeting we hosted, held in Towson, Maryland. Joyce will be sorely missed for all the ways she supported the chapter but she will be missed mostly as a close friend to all of us.