Joyce Slayton, age 96, a longtime resident of Monticello and co-owner of Slayton Studio, passed away peacefully on October 3, 2022, surrounded by her loving family.

Joyce was a kind, generous, loving, wise, and eternally optimistic person throughout her life. Friends describe her as one of the most warm-hearted and genuine people that they have ever known.   She was not only a wonderful friend to all who had the pleasure of spending time with her, but many also thought of her as a second mother.

Joyce was born in Brooklyn, New York, and moved to Monticello with her beloved late husband Joe in the late 1950s. Together they established their photography business and Joyce managed Slayton Studio with Joe for over 55 years while raising a family. While initially focusing on portraits, weddings, family events, summer camps and high school yearbooks, the studio later expanded to include nursery schools and daycare centers, and those photographs have created wonderful memories for hundreds of thousands of families across the northeast.

Joyce loved to tell stories of growing up in Brooklyn as a first-generation American, and meeting friends who would be close for a lifetime. She cherished her experiences as a New Yorker and took great pride in being a Magyar (Hungarian). She recounted tales of travels as a young woman west to Colorado, as well as spending many wonderful summers at Camp Wigwam in Maine, where she won awards for her personality and charm.  She was very proud of her early career accomplishments, including serving as executive secretary for Consumers Union and appearing on the cover of Consumer Reports August 1948 edition.

Joyce had many passions, the greatest of which was entertaining friends at her kitchen table, serving everyone bagels, ice cream, and sweets. She relished dining out and talking about her great restaurant experiences and was a regular at many Sullivan County establishments.  She adored the theater, frequenting Broadway shows and attending the Forestburgh Playhouse for decades. She loved traveling with Joe as they toured five continents.  After finally retiring at age 90 and being limited by arthritis, she enjoyed reading thrillers and detective novels, streaming movies and solving word games and puzzles.

She is survived by her sons Val W. Slayton and Todd B. (wife Jamie) Slayton, and granddaughters Thera S. Slayton, Aliya J. Slayton, Rachel E. Slayton and Sarah L. Slayton.  She is predeceased by her husband Joe, her siblings Millie Kravitz and Warren Jacobs, and her parents Ernest Jacobs and Regina (Arnstein) Jacobs.

A funeral service took place on Thursday, October 6, 2022, at 12:00 noon at the Joseph N. Garlick Funeral Home, 388 Broadway, Monticello, NY 12701. Burial immediately followed at the Temple Sholom Cemetery, South Woods Road, Monticello. 

The family requests that in lieu of flowers, you consider a donation to The Arthritis Foundation.

Arrangements are honorably entrusted to the Joseph N. Garlick Funeral Home - 845-794-7474 or www.josephngarlickfuneralhome.com.