Joyce E. Markham
Joyce E. Markham
Joyce E. Markham, 101, of Ocala, Fla. formerly of Silver Creek, NY passed away peacefully early Sunday morning, September 1, 2019, at Brooks Memorial Hospital in Dunkirk, NY. She was born on March 10, 1918, in Model City, NY, the daughter of the late Ivan and Stella (DeBuhr) Nagle, of Eden, NY.
Sports could be found in every facet of Joyce’s life. She graduated from Eden High School in 1936, after leading her basketball team to many county championships. She could make baskets from any place on the court, hence her nickname, “Any Angle Nagle.” For her efforts, she was inducted into the Eden High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.
Joyce attended Ithaca College and majored in Physical Education, playing all sports, and graduated in 1940. She was preparing to try out for the 1940 Olympic Gymnastics Team, when the games were cancelled due to World War II. She taught physical education from 1941-46 in the Lancaster/Depew school system.
She married Clair Markham on July 4, 1942, and in 1946, they moved to Silver Creek, where she switched to teaching high school English. She taught from 1946-51, left to raise a family, and returned to teaching in 1961. While at Silver Creek, she coached girls’ bowling, was the girls’ cheerleading advisor, and kept the stats for the boys’ basketball team for over 10 years. She also directed both Junior and Senior Class plays. Joyce retired in 1978 after a brilliant career.
She was Boston Celtics’ Larry Bird’s biggest fan and she enjoyed cheering on the Buffalo Bills, Duke University, and her beloved Florida Gators.
In 1978, she moved to Florida, where she excelled at golf, tennis, and bowling. She was also a lifelong bridge player. Joyce was a member of the Silver Springs Shores Presbyterian Church and a former member of the First United Presbyterian Church in Silver Creek. For a number of years, up into her 90’s, she delivered Meals on Wheels “to old people,” as she liked to say.
Survivors include her daughters Claudia (Bryan) Markham Ahl of Ocala, FL, and Cathy (Jim) Hebb of Parsons, WV, grandchildren Clare (Troy Hottle) Hebb and Jimmy Hebb, and great-grandson Cace Michael Hottle, who was the apple of her eye.
Besides her parents, Joyce was preceded in death by her husband, Clair, and her sister and brother-in-law, Thelma and Niles Roesser.
A memorial service will be held at 11:00 AM, Saturday, September 7, at the First United Presbyterian Church in Silver Creek. Interment will follow in the Evergreen Lawn Cemetery in Hanover Center, next to her husband.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the First United Presbyterian Church, 35 Park Place, Silver Creek, NY 14136. Arrangements have been entrusted to the Hole-Parker Funeral Home 160 Central Ave. Silver Creek.
To share a condolence or a remembrance with Joyce’s family go to www.holeparkerfc.com.