AS A SINGLE MOTHER of five children, Joyce Eleanor Murrell had to be a strong woman and a strict disciplinarian, but it was always combined with a nurturing nature that endeared her children to her.
She died Sept. 12 of complications of kidney disease. She was 64 and lived in South Philadelphia.
Joyce worked as a teacher's aide at Bartlett and Palumbo elementary schools, and later as a secretary for a credit-card company in the Northeast, where she charmed supervisors and fellow employees with her sense of humor, strong work ethic and her stylish dress.
"Joyce was very outspoken and had a very unique way with words," her family said. "She could talk on the phone for hours and was known to be 'nosy.' She made sure she knew all the business going on inside and outside her home."
