The ‘Joy in Joyce’: Longtime LeMoyne Community Center executive director remembered in ceremony
Katie Anderson/Observer-Reporter
The family of Joyce Ellis, former executive director of the LeMoyne Community Center, pray together during a memorial service for Joyce Saturday afternoon at the Brownson House in Washington.
Katie Anderson/Observer-Reporter
The Joyce Ellis Dancers perform on the football field next to the Brownson House on Jefferson Avenue in Washington Saturday afternoon during a memorial service for the late Joyce D. Ellis, who died in December.
A crowd of family, friends and neighbors fill the football field at the Brownson House on Jefferson Avenue in Washington for a memorial service celebrating the life of Joyce Ellis, former executive director of the LeMoyne Community Center.
Katie Anderson/Observer-Reporter
Hikia Dixon, sister of Joyce Ellis, speaks during a memorial service for Joyce Saturday afternoon on the football field next to the Brownson House in Washington.
From left, Alexus Young and Aleta Rowe, adopted daughter of Joyce Ellis, sing during a memorial service for Joyce Saturday afternoon in Washington.
Ron Moore remembered the day his longtime friend, Joyce Ellis, told him to get in the car because she needed him “for security.”
“I was like, ‘where are we going?’ And she said, ‘We’re going to the bank,'” Moore said during a memorial service Saturday afternoon in honor of Ellis.
Moore said when Ellis left the bank and got back into the car, she looked at him.
“She said, ‘Ron Moore, you might think I’m crazy right now, but I have a vision, and we’re going to do the best we can to help these children at the LeMoyne Center. I just emptied every single dime out of my account,'” Moore recalled during the service. “My heart went into my stomach because I never seen somebody so selfless like that. I hugged her in the car and said, ‘Joyce, again, I don’t have your back, I’m beside you.'”
This Mother’s Day weekend, Washington remembered Ellis – who was a mother figure to many children who grew up in Washington or frequented the LeMoyne Community Center. More than 100 people gathered in the football field next to the Brownson House on Jefferson Avenue to celebrate Ellis, who died in December at age 62 following a battle with cancer.
Ellis’ adopted daughter, Aleta Rowe, sang songs dedicated to her mother during the memorial.
“I feel her with me every day,” Rowe said. “I am the woman I am today because of her unconditional love, her guidance and her constant support. Thank you, Mom. You are truly the wind beneath my wings, and you will forever be missed and loved by so many.”
Ellis was known for her dance studios, advocacy for children and work at the center, of which she became the executive director in 2007. Several people who remembered Ellis Saturday spoke about her energy and joy.
County Judge Traci McDonald-Kemp, a longtime friend, said knowing Ellis was being brought into “the Joyce experience,” and that meant experiencing joy.
“That’s what she was – pure, pure joy,” McDonald-Kemp said. “She was the Joy in Joyce.”
Linda Harris, Ellis’ successor as executive director, worked with her at the center for 12 years. Harris said when she first started there, Ellis had “no staff, no programs, nothing but herself.” As Ellis shared with her a vision for the center, Harris soon found out the former executive director alone was certainly enough to start something amazing in Washington.
“The more she talked, the more she made me want to be part of something greater,” Harris said. “I just knew something good is about to happen, and I wanted to be a part of it. Joyce made people believe in her vision, and she made me believe in her. You didn’t always know when you needed Joyce, but somehow, she knew.”
Ellis is survived by five siblings, who spoke during the service Saturday, and her dog, Coco, who roamed the field Saturday afternoon and befriended the guests.
“Her drive to provide and to care for her family was just unmatched,” said Curt Ellis, Joyce’s brother.
Ellis said life won’t be the same without his sister, as she kept her family bonded, proud and entertained.
“My sister did what a lot of us hope to do in our lifetime – she found her purpose,” he said. “And with that, she gave every last fiber of her being, every last breath to her community, to her family, to her God.”
Toni Noonan, Ellis’ sister, read her sibling’s bio to the crowd. After graduating from Washington High School in 1977, Ellis moved to New York City to pursue a dancing career. She returned to Washington in 1981 and started Joyce Ellis Dancers studio. Some of Ellis’ former students performed in the lawn during the celebration Saturday.
After teaching dance for 30 years, Ellis closed the studios and invested all her time, savings and love into the LeMoyne Community Center. The youth at the center had more than sports or after-school programs, McDonald-Kemp said, because they had Ellis.
“With Joyce, you stepped into a journey and an experience of self-awareness, accountability, enlightenment, value,” McDonald-Kemp said. “Her motivation was infectious. There were no variants, there were no limits, there was no ceiling. She saw what others thought of as impossible, as something that was already in the works. Her dreams were endless, her energy unrelenting and her bravery undaunted.”
Harris said she’s made it her mission to ensure the LeMoyne Community Center maintains Ellis’ vision and legacy, “by continuing to help the LeMoyne Center thrive and remain the focal point of the community.”
“As she looks down from heaven, I want Joyce to know, we will continue to do what she started, and we will make her proud,” Harris said.