Palo Verde High School
 

Class Of 1968

  
     

In Memory



Joyce Drake

Date Deceased: December 14, 2000
Age at Death: 50
Cause of Death: Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
Classmate City: Tucson
Classmate State: AZ
Survived By: Children: a daughter

Born in Gary, Indiana on Thanksgiving Day (11/23/1950), Joyce Mary Drake was the daughter of Shirley and Jack Drake. Joyce was a Top 25 senior at Palo Verde High School. Following graduation she attended the University of Arizona and there received a BA Elementary Education (1975) and then a MA in Educational Counseling (1986). She was a teacher and counselor with Tucson Unified School District TUSD for 25 years along with being an Instructor at the University of Phoenix. Joyce was a star performer in all the roles she played at TUSD, with perhaps her greatest contribution to TUSD being a lead teacher/coordinator at Accommodation Middle School. She designed a highly structured, safe and caring learning environment that held students, parents and staff consistently accountable for student behavior. Her efforts were so successful that TUSD created several other alternative middle schools using the "Joyce Drake" model. On December 14, 2000 Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma cancer took her life. Joyce was survived by her parents, daughter and three siblings (Connie, Jack, & Nancy). In honor of Joyce on November 16, 2001 the Accommodation Middle School was renamed to Joyce M. Drake Alternative Middle School.

In Joyce’s Memory, please spend some quality time with a child.


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07/31/08 05:21 PM #1    

Karen Shields Griffin

I remember Joyce's beauty - inside and out! She had such poise and maturity for high school. I remember when she moved to Tucson from another state midway or so into our high school years. I remember her being a songleader too....I think. I also recall her being our valedictorian. She had a brilliant mind! To learn now how she lived her life, dedicating it to educating our young - well, it just doesn't surprise me. It seems Joyce gave more in her shortened life than a lot of people who live to be 100. God Bless her for truly making a difference. Her legacy lives on in the children's lives she touched, and continues to touch. How perfect that a middle school now bears her name.

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