Joyce Hayes Gertz

WEATHERFORD -- Joyce Hayes Gertz, 87, a force of nature stilled only by nature, who leaves a long list of those she unselfishly helped and who loved her in return, passed away Tuesday, March 4, 2014, after a slow decline. Memorial Service: 2 p.m. Friday, March 21, 2014 in White's Chapel of Memories, 130 Houston Ave., Weatherford. A Memorial Service will be held in Los Angeles at a later date. Daughter of J. C. and Georgiamae Hayes, she was born in Weatherford on August 31, 1926. Raised in Weatherford and a student of Mary Martin, Joyce left Weatherford to pursue a career on the Broadway musical stage, toured the Pacific with the USO during WWII, then married and settled in New York City. She later became a force in the decorative fabric trade and, moving to Los Angeles, established her firm's presence in the west and shepherded its successful growth nationally. Joyce possessed a dynamic, outgoing personality which, in concert with her beauty, charm, and deep well of caring for those around her, naturally drew people to her. She was a feminist before the word existed, establishing an independent life and career. Though Joyce gained urban sophistication and traveled the world with her sister, the late Jerry Hayes Newberry, visiting all seven continents including Antarctica in her 70s, she never lost touch with her roots; she was a Texas woman, stoic, action-oriented, with values forged by small-town life in the Lone Star State. If Joyce was your friend, you never had a better one. If she was your close relative you never had a more caring one. Joyce will be deeply missed by all her knew and loved her. She is survived by her children, Barbara J. Humphreys of Rhode Island and Stephen J. Gertz of Los Angeles, and her grandchildren Caleb and Autumn Humphreys of Los Angeles, and Quanah and wife Phung Humphreys of Chicago.White's Funeral HomeWeatherford, 817-596-4811