🌿A Letter to Granny🌿 There are some things in life that change you — not for a moment, but forever. Losing you, Granny, was one of those things. Your passing didn’t just break my heart — it changed me. It shook something deep in my soul. And I’ve come to realize: there’s no way around this kind of loss. You can’t fix it. You can’t outrun it. You just have to sit with it… and let it change you. 🌿 But as I sat in that grief, something else began to rise — a different kind of weight. The weight of everything you left with us: Love. Legacy. Laughter. Family. 🌿 Talking with everyone this week — sharing stories, swapping memories, hearing what you meant to each of us — I found myself smiling through the tears. Slowly, the pain of losing you started to make room for the joy of remembering you. 🌿 Granny, what a life you lived. You were born into a family full of love and raised with strong, unshakable roots. You met the love of your life in high school — and together, you lived out the American dream. You built a beautiful life, filled with beautiful children, who gave you 8 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren. That’s not just a family — that’s a legacy. 🌿 You had courage — real courage. You left the country for the city and built a new life, while keeping the heart of where you came from. You raised babies while still barely one yourself. You helped raise grandkids while raising your own. You gave to your parents, stood by Gramps through every health battle, and never once stopped giving to us. 🌿 You endured the passing of nearly everyone from your first family — including your beloved sister Joan. And you endured your greatest loss — when Gramps passed away. Anyone would’ve understood if that broke you. But you didn’t let it. You held us together. You made sure our family didn’t just survive — it grew stronger. You carried your grief with grace, and somehow, you still smiled. You still laughed. You still found joy in the everyday moments. 🌿 And those are the moments I’ll carry with me forever: Sitting in your kitchen, next to the potato and onion box, watching you cook. The way everything tasted better at your house. The sweet tea. The tune of your soaps playing in the background of my childhood. Feeding the ducks. Pudding pops. Crying every time my dad came to pick me up — and you bribing me with a lipstick or a purse just to make it easier to say goodbye. Your laugh every time someone told you to smile. Friday morning pancakes and Stehlin’s bacon with you and Jace— and you laughing when I called it Stalin’s. The smell of your home. The warmth of your hugs. The softness of your hands. 🌿 You didn’t just raise a family — you created a feeling. You built a home in people, not just in a house. You reminded us that time together was the most precious thing we had. 🌿 Granny, thinking about your life doesn’t just show me how blessed you were — it shows me how blessed we were to be loved by you. 🌿 Hug Gramps for us. Tell him we miss him too. And when you look down on us, I hope you see — the roots you planted are still growing, strong and steady, and holding our family together, just like you always did. 🌿 Until we meet again, I love you always.
Let the memory of Joyce be with us forever.
Joyce “Granny” Blust was more than a mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother—she was the heart of her family. Born in Pulaski, Tennessee in 1939, she carried a warmth and strength that never dimmed. Joyce married her high-school sweetheart, Ace, and together they built a life full of love, laughter, and family. They raised three children, filling their home with joy, adventures, and memories that would last a lifetime. Friends and family were always welcome, and she cherished a life rich with celebrations, gatherings, and the simple pleasures of shared time. Joyce dedicated her life to caring for those she loved. She raised her children and grandchildren with unwavering devotion, tended to her parents in their later years, and devoted nearly 30 years to caring for her beloved husband, Ace, supporting him through his health struggles. The two shared 55 wonderful years of marriage before Ace passed in 2011. After his passing, Joyce cherished every moment with her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, celebrating stories, milestones, and everyday visits. She became the last of her family following the passing of her twin sister Joan, carrying their family’s legacy forward with grace and love. Friends remember her quick wit and her effortless style, while her grandchildren remember her as the one who always showed up. She would scratch her grandchildren’s backs and arms to soothe them and fill every room with her infectious laughter, often laughing at herself as easily as with others. She was the kind of person you could talk to about anything—the good, the bad, or the ugly—and always feel safe and understood. Joyce loved to express her joy and spirit through fashion, enjoying beautiful clothing, handbags, and shoes, and always sharing her flair and elegance with those around her. Granny’s love was often served on a plate. She made the best macaroni salad and sweet tea, family favorites, and no one ever left her table hungry. She insisted everyone take a little extra home, and if you were just swinging through, she’d make something ready to go. Even at the very end, when she had so little strength left, her first concern was still for her family: “Have you eaten dinner?” For her, food was comfort, care, and love all rolled into one. She leaves behind a family who adored her beyond measure — her children Sherry (Alvin) Hayes, Cindy (John) Radenheimer, and David (Jenny) Blust; her grandchildren Cara Ball, Tony (Jackie) Miller, Kelli (Matt) Goedde, Steph (Luke) Kopyar, Dean (Lori) Roden, Stacey Dom, Andy (Sandra) Blust, and Jake (Lindsay) Blust; and her great-grandchildren Jake Ball, Julien Synder, Alli Ball, Trey Miller, Austin Goedde, Morgan Miller, Jace Moffitt, Elise Roden, Grace Goedde, Connor Roden, Leo Kopyar, Charlie Blust, Marleigh Blust, Emma Blust, Drew Blust and Rosie Blust; and great-great-grandchildren Jeremiah Horton and Relly Mizell, each of whom brought light and laughter to her days. Her love lives on—in every full plate, every laugh shared, every story still being told, and in the warmth, joy, and sparkle she brought to every life she touched.
Resting place · Crown Hill Memorial Park, Cincinnati, Ohio
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Joyce was the first one to welcome me to the Family in 1979, She was the Best sister-in-law and Friend for 48 years. She was and is still very Special to me and will forever live on in my heart. It didn’t matter if I saw her once a week or once a year. She was always there for me. She had a way about her and always made me laugh. One of those laugh out loud laughs. We married Brothers, Ace & Jerry. That was enough to keep us with plenty to talk about. I always told her when I grow up I want to be like you except I need a Car and driving, also her since of direction. She always knew good directions wherever we went. Joyce taught me a lot about Life and Family. She was a professional at her lifelong occupation. Joyce loved Ace to the moon and back, Her Family, Sherry, Cindy and her special baby boy, David. It seems Moms have a thing for their boys. That said, she had plenty of room left in her heart for her grandchildren and great grandchildren. Joyce you are one of a kind person I am proud to have known you. I hope you are happy in heaven and feel better. Tell Ace hello. I love you Joyce, I hope I see you again not too soon.
John 14:1-3: "Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in Me. My Father's house has has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." The reason why I chose this verse is because I think that she would want us to be happy for her, she is living a much better life in heaven. She can see Gramps and her entire family, also she is not suffering anymore. So be happy for her. Love you Granny, you're the best still.
Granny was a well of love and comfort. I could tell her anything and she just had this way of supporting you and making you feel so loved. I’ll never forget her sending us back in the middle of the night to Mom and Alvin when we lived in Seattle. Our phone conversations when I lived in NY and more recently getting to spend the most precious time with her before she passed. I will never forget watching our last episode of Law & Order together the night before she died. She fell asleep and I took her glasses off, kissed her goodnight, and tucked her in like she did me countless times. Granny, I hope I love everyone as deep as you did. I will always remember your tender heart, endless fudge pops, Frenchie, warm hugs, and how you would scratch my back or arms to help me feel better. I love you.
Granny was so cool that instead of hitting the college parties with friends our age, Jackie and I would leave UC on the weekends and go hang out with her and her friends at the Wagon Wheel—where more fun memories were made than I will ever even remember! Later in life, after we'd all settled down a bit, Granny and I had the longest Words with Friends streak going strong. I'll forever cherish our egg sandwich lunches too. I'd swing by her place for lunch and over fried egg sandwiches and tall glasses of milk we would catch up with each other laughing and talking about whatever was going on in the world or the latest shows we were watching at the time. Those were incredibly blessed moments that I will carry with me forever, and that's how I'll always remember her. She'll be so missed! Granny, you are a legend.