Joyce Long

Joyce Keen was born on April 1, 1948 to Frank and Evelyn Keen in Maryland. Her family remained in the Baltimore area where she grew up and later, she attended the Community College of Baltimore where she graduated in 1968. While there, she took a high interest in speech, dramatics, radio, and television, and was a member of both the stage crafters and closed-circuit television club. On May 25, 1974, Joyce wed her love, Justus Long, in Baltimore, MD at the Mt. Vernon Place Methodist Church. They welcomed their first born child, Jason, on May 1, 1978 and raised him during his younger years in Cockeysville, MD. Their second child, Jeremy, was born on February 19, 1985, and was raised in Arnold, MD. In 1987, the family moved to Falls Church, VA where they have lived ever since. Joyce brought up her children in a very loving manner, welcoming friends into their home and encouraging her children to be a part of sports teams and the community swimming pool. In 2005, Joyce was given the devastating news that she had non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. On June 18, 2011, she was elated to be a part of her first son’s wedding, and very quickly gained a desire to see grandchildren. Sadly, Joyce’s husband of 37 years unexpectedly passed away, and caused great hardship and depression for her. During January and February of 2012, Joyce endured intense chemotherapy treatments again, and was cleared of all cancer in late February. A month later, she was hospitalized for having pneumonia and a blood clot in her leg. Upon discharge, she spent three weeks in a physical rehabilitation nursing home and been showing promising results. Joyce was hopeful of returning home and getting back to her normal life, but nearing the end of her time in the nursing home, she started showing signs of mental changes. On April 11, she was transferred to the ICU at the Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, VA where they diagnosed her as having further signs of the pneumonia, a urinary tract infection, infections of her colon and GI tract, and signs of kidney failure. Doctors proceeded to heavily medicate her to attempt to clear up all of the infections, but because she had not wished to undertake dialysis, there was nothing the doctors could do for her failing kidneys. On April 18th, Joyce was moved in hospice care at the hospital. Two days later, with her family by her side and holding her hands, she passed away peacefully. Joyce loved her family. Her two sons, Jason and Jeremy, and her husband Jess. She also loved animals, having rescued two basset hounds in the past and currently taking care of two cats. Before her health got the better of her, she really enjoyed living life. She enjoyed plants and flowers, especially her azalea bushes. She enjoyed trying various different kinds of activities, painting, knitting, stitching, reading, and bird watching. She loved music and was even a president of a Beatles fan club back in the 60s. She enjoyed traveling, especially to England to visit her best friend that she had become pen pals with through the Beatles fan club. She enjoyed taking trips to the family’s favorite getaway every summer, Ocean City, MD. She really enjoyed trying out new restaurants and new foods and loved searching for new recipes for my dad to make for dinner. She loved anything butterscotch flavored, fresh homemade cookies, and cherry Italian ice. She loved collecting trinkets and figurines and nutcrackers of all sizes. She also loved collecting baskets. She spent time volunteering in the school library and at the Newseum in DC. As her mobility and health began to worsen, she was in and out of the hospital for many years. While she was home, she took advantage of watching many of her favorite television shows with her husband. She always remained passionate about politics and government, always ready and willing to voice her opinion. This passion was matched by the one she had for her family. To the last day, her family was by her side. Her and her husband are back together once again. A Funeral Service will be held Tuesday April 24, 2012 7:00 p.m. at National Funeral Home 7482 Lee Highway Falls Church, Va 22042.