Joyce Jessmore

Joyce Helen Jessmore, age 97, of Saginaw, peacefully passed away on Thursday, April 9, 2026, surrounded by her family. The daughter of Charles and Helen (Loth) Reese, Joyce was born January 5, 1929, in Saginaw, Michigan. She married Floyd Jessmore on July 15, 1950, and together they shared 50 years of marriage, until Floyd’s passing in 2000.

A lifelong Saginaw resident, Joyce attended Saginaw High School and after graduation she worked both at Sears and Michigan Bell business departments.

Around 1948, her father purchased a new camera for his daughter at Saginaw Photo and a very nice young gentlemen sold him the “camera of destiny” and instructed him to send Joyce in for lessons.  Joyce pretended to be a very slow learner, returning often and the rest is history.  She often said, “I chased him until he caught me!”, and that was the start of the most beautiful love story that could not have been written in books or movies.  A love like no other, to the end.

Floyd and Joyce purchased Saginaw Photo Supply, which they owned and operated for over 40 years.  Making the joint decision that Joyce’s value was best used raising her children, she became a stay-at-home mom, meeting her kids after school with frosted graham crackers, preparing home cooked meals every night, caring for their home and providing constant love and support for her children and Floyd, while also maintaining a very close relationship with her mother Helen.

Joyce loved to shop, run the roads, visit loved ones, sit on her porch greeting all and chatting with neighbors, volunteering at the READ Association, and gardening – she LOVED her flowers!  One of Joyce’s greatest gifts was her ability to turn acquaintances into lifelong friends.  Once you met her, you became someone she treasured forever and vice versa. 

Joyce was a talented seamstress, making clothes for her daughter as she grew that were the envy of Jan’s friends.  She used her creativity and talents through machine quilting, china-painting, drawing, gardening, loving those grandchildren, and photography.  Her children and grandchildren were so special to her.  The family spent several years and created many memories at their cherished log home on Wixom Lake.

After selling the business in 1986, they set off across the United States, hunting for treasures at antique shops and flea markets, and exploring 49 states, mostly by car.  Telling their children that they had no set destination, with a spirit of adventure and curiosity that guided them wherever the wind would lead.

Floyd passed away very suddenly in January 2000, but Joyce continued on strongly, saying “I can’t be sad, he was the love of my life and we had something so special that most will never experience.”  Their love and hard work ethic provided a path for their children and grandchildren to strive for and emulate.

Joyce has been a lifelong devout Lutheran with very strong faith and was a member of St. John Lutheran and Faith Lutheran churches.  Even in her eighties, she proudly began ushering at church, always eager to serve and connect with others.

Joyce moved to Edgewood Assisted Living in July 2025 and her small family suddenly grew.  The compassion, love and care she received during this time is something her family will forever be so thankful and grateful for.  She made it her mission while there to make ONE person smile each day, and she said if she did that, she did well.   And she did.

Joyce’s family is profoundly grateful for the compassionate care she received from the staff at Edgewood Assisted Living, and Jennifer and Kayla from All Valley Hospice, and for all who called, visited, took her to lunch, sent cards, and surrounded her with love. Jan also cannot begin to express how much love and support she felt from each one of you. Joyce was truly blessed with devoted friends and family who cherished her deeply until the very end.

Joyce is survived by her children, Steve (Brenda), Alto MI, and Jan Hoffman (Saginaw) and cherished grandchildren, Andrew Jessmore, Alex (Elena Patel) Jessmore, and Lindsay Jessmore. She was preceded in death by her parents, Charles and Helen Reese, and her husband, Floyd Jessmore.

Visitation will take place Friday, April 17, 2026, from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Visitation will continue Saturday, April 18, 2026, from 10:30 a.m. until time of Funeral Service at 11:30 a.m. at Deisler Funeral Home, 2233 Hemmeter Road, Saginaw, Michigan 48603. Pastor Christina Schultz will officiate. Burial will take place at Roselawn Memorial Gardens, Saginaw.

Memorials in honor of Joyce may be made to Faith Lutheran Church or an organization of your choosing.

For information, please call Deisler Funeral Home at (989) 799-1151. To express your condolences, please visit www.deislerfuneralhome.com.