Joyce Ann Rose

ROSE, Joyce Ann, 86 y/o passed peacefully July 12, 2024, at home following a lengthy illness and under Ohio Hospice of Dayton care. Joyce was born on May 24, 1938, to the late Zachariah and Vesta Sullivan, in Lexington, Kentucky. She attended Transylvania University in Lexington, where she was a member of the Alpha Omicron Pi sorority and where she met her future husband, Manning Irl Rose II of Southgate, California. At 20 years of age, she wed Manning in December of 1958 at Broadway Christian Church in Lexington. They soon had four children and relocated to Kettering, Ohio in 1966 as Manning transferred work from Square D Company to NCR in Dayton, Ohio. Together, they designed and built their first and only home where they resided for 57 years. While raising her children, Joyce attended and achieved a bachelor’s degree in biology from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. She was the first in her family to receive a college education. 

Born and raised in Lexington, Kentucky, she was predeceased by her parents: Zachariah Mitchell Sullivan II (Mike), Vesta Lorraine Schrader-Sullivan, and brother: Charles Mitchell Sullivan, and her spouse: Manning Irl Rose II.

She is survived by siblings: Mary Lorraine Sullivan of Bowling Green, KY and Paul Allen Sullivan of Madison, GA and sister-in-law Kathleen Ann Morris-Sullivan. She is survived by children: Mark Edward Rose (Gina) of Macungie, PA; Brenda Lee Rose of Kettering, OH; Lennda Bea Rose-Hungerford (John) of Waynesville, OH; and Manning Irl Rose III of Kettering, OH; and survived by grandchildren: Lindsey Grace Hungerford (Holly) of Miamisburg, OH and Cody Lee Saintgnue of Hollywood, CA.

Joyce was quite affable with a strong sense of curiosity and a quick wit which allowed her to make friends easily with people from all walks of life. These qualities aligned well with her work at South Community Mental Health Center as a financial liaison and serving as a supportive partner to theological duties as a minister’s wife (primarily serving at Oxford Christian Church in Kentucky for 6 years, Lindenwald Christian Church in Hamilton, Ohio for 10 years and intermittently at Central Christian Church in Kettering, Ohio) and travel aspects as an engineer’s spouse. She wore many hats and enjoyed learning new information, even seeking nursing degree certification late in life. She took pleasure in raising her four children, gardening, spiritual study which included the founding of the Center for Triological Research (@CTR) and desiring more than an ordinary life. She often traveled domestically and to international locations to support her husband’s consultant work and seminars, gaining the benefits of learning about new places, exotic foods, and cultures. She appreciated a challenging hand of Hearts or Bridge whether playing a round at home with family members or with friends at the Kettering Recreation Senior Center. She delighted in playing the piano albeit as a novice and surrounding her home with artwork, furniture, and collectibles that resonated harmony and beauty. 

She will be interred with her husband of 51 years at David’s Cemetery in Kettering. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the charity of your choice or to Ohio’s Hospice of Dayton, in recognition of the excellent care provided to Joyce. 

The family wishes to extend gratitude to her classmates from Transylvania University, Wright State University, co-workers from South Community Mental Health Center, friends from the Center for Triological Research, bridge card playing members from the Kettering Recreation Senior Center, congregations from church, and her personal physicians and caregivers: Dr. Keren Ray, DO; Miami Valley Hospital (MVH), MVH South, Kettering paramedics, Legacy Kettering, and Ohio Hospice of Dayton; and to the many individuals she may have crossed paths with on her life journey. 

She was good-hearted, charitable, caring, and possessed a strong-willed good character. She was well-loved and will be greatly missed by her family and everyone who knew her.