Joyce E. Carhart, 79, passed on Friday, September 30, 2022.  She was born May 8, 1943 in Rahway, New Jersey to the late Russell and Mary (Phillips) Mesler.  Joyce was a graduate of Linden High School and business Correspondents School.

Joyce married the late Norman Carhart in 1963, raising their family in Clark and then Linden, New Jersey.  Joyce is survived by her daughters Leighanne Hartman (Chris) and Lynette Gladdis (John), and her grandchildren Nicholas, Lindsay and Madelyn Cross, and Jacob, Michelle and Sean Gladdis.  Joyce was preceded in death by her beloved son Gregg.

Joyce had several bookkeeping and secretarial jobs prior to starting work for M. Gordon Construction Co. in Linden where she worked for 30 years until her retirement in 2008.  Joyce and her husband Norman moved to Brick, New Jersey when he retired, and Joyce lived there until Norman's passing in 2015 when she moved to Durham, North Carolina to live near her daughter Leighanne and her family.

Joyce loved to travel and went on many cruises and trips, including a particularly special trip with Gregg's boy scout troop to see Hoover Dam.  Spending time at the beach was a lifelong passion starting with her grandparents' bungalow in Seaside Park, then vacations with her children and family friends in Seaside Park and Seaside Heights, and in later years to her timeshares in Pompano Beach and Myrtle Beach.

Joyce loved a good martini or two, loved to read and got her daughters hooked on Danielle Steele books early on, and loved to play cards, particularly Nertz which was played for hours and hours on every beach vacation.  Joyce loved 50s and 60s music, but Elvis was her very favorite, even taking her mother Mary on a road trip to Graceland to visit.  She could be found on every dance floor, shoes kicked off and outlasting most everyone else.  Joyce had a great sense of humor and a big laugh, frequently crying because she laughed so hard and so deeply.

More than anything, Joyce loved her family and friends, of which there were many.  Joyce most especially loved her children, grandchildren, and her dear cousins who were the sisters and brothers that she never had.  She was "Aunt Joyce" to so many because she made friends who became family wherever she went.  If you were one of the many to whom Joyce gave a nickname you were someone she held dear.

Visitation will take place on Monday, October 17 from 4-7 pm at the Leonard Lee Funeral Home, 301 E. Blancke Street, Linden, New Jersey.  A Funeral Service will be held at Leonard Lee on Tuesday, October 18 at 10 am, with entombment of ashes to follow at Rosedale Memorial Park, Linden, New Jersey.   In lieu of flowers, donations to Lynette's Alzheimer's fundraiser at http://act.alz.org/goto/lynettespurplehearts in Joyce's memory would be appreciated.