Joyce Toy passed away on May 4, 2024, after a long and active life. She was born in Pasadena, California, and grew up in that area through the Great Depression and World War II. After her fiancé, Ernest W. Toy, Jr., returned from his service with the Navy in the Pacific during the war, they were married and attended UCLA, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in art.

In 1960, Joyce and Ernest moved to Fullerton with their 5 children. Joyce started classes at CSUF to earn her Master’s Degree in Art and then her teaching credential.

As a woman seeking a full-time position teaching at the Community College level in the 1970s, she faced many hurdles, but she ultimately became a tenured professor. She thoroughly enjoyed working with her students, and they frequently voted her the “Best Teacher of the Year.” Among the high points of her teaching career, she spent six months in Italy on sabbatical around 1985, honing her printmaking skills in Florence and visiting museums, cathedrals, and other sites of important artworks in Italy and France, gathering information and materials for her classes. Her marriage to Ernest, Jr. ended in 1971.

Her longest and final relationship was with Robert Anspach, a widower who shared her love of gardening, travel, and ballroom dancing. They both volunteered at the Fullerton Arboretum for many years after Joyce retired.

She is survived by four of her children, her much-loved grandson, Alex, her nieces and nephews, and her former husband and his wife. She is greatly missed by all who know her.