Obituary
Joyce Hauck Martin lived a long, full and happy life. The daughter
of William Henry and Lydia Bauer Hauck, she was born in Newark, New Jersey,
and grew up in the adjacent town of Irvington. She was an accomplished
dancer and voted the ”wittiest” in her high school class. Joyce was a graduate
of Bucknell University (Lewisburg, PA), where she met the love of her life, Navy
veteran Roger Martin of Springfield, Ohio, in 1946. Joyce and Roger
married on October 1, 1949, and moved to Pittsburgh, where Roger,
a nuclear engineer, had accepted a position with the Duquesne Light
Company. Joyce worked as a service representative for Bell Telephone,
two years in New Jersey and three in Pennsylvania.
Early in their marriage, Joyce and Roger joined the Lutheran church, and
remained active communicants for the rest of their lives. At Trinity Lutheran
Church in Gibsonia, PA, they led by example, with Roger being involved with
choir and council, and Joyce writing thank you notes to church visitors. Joyce
held membership at Trinity for 56 years.
Joyce and Roger produced two children, James and Joan, both of whom
earned doctorates. Jim became a History professor, and Joan an ordained
Presbyterian minister. Family vacations always included historical sites.
Joyce stressed education above all else; in order to finance her children’s
college tuition, she worked as a substitute teacher for many years. Her
own educational attainments included obtaining her teaching certificate from
Geneva College (Beaver Falls, PA) and earning a Master of Arts in History from
Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania.
Because of her proximity to New York City, Joyce witnessed many historical
events. She saw John Philip Sousa in 1931, viewed Herbert Hoover in 1932 and
was in Times Square on VJ Day (August 14, 1945). She remembered the
Hindenburg explosion (1937), the War of the Worlds hysteria (1938)
and Pearl Harbor (1941) as if they had occurred yesterday. Indeed, Joyce
had a prodigious memory; if you told her your birthday, she would remember
it for the rest of her life. Moreover, she would send you a birthday card for
the rest of YOUR life.
Joyce had a zest for living. She was true extrovert and the happiest years
of her life were spent travelling with Roger after his retirement from Duquesne
Light in 1992. They participated in various Elderhostels and, thanks to Joyce’s
love of sales, visited 62 Saks Fifth Avenue stores. After Roger’s passing in 2013,
Joyce remained in Pennsylvania for four years, and then moved to the Covenant
Village retirement center in Gastonia, NC, where Joan serves as a chaplain.
In addition to her parents, Joyce was preceded in death by her brother Herbert,
sister, Luella and daughter-in-law Linda Fields Martin. She is survived by her son
James, daughter Joan (Jeffrey), grandson Jay (Chelsee) and great-grandson Fields
William Martin.
Donations
In lieu of flowers, contributions in memory of Joyce may be made to the
Covenant Village Benevolence Fund, 1351 Robinwood Road, Gastonia, NC 28054