Joyce Helen Wheeler

Joyce-Helen Wheeler, born January 6, 1939, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, passed away after a life filled with adventure, creativity, family, and an unwavering willingness to try something new.

Joyce was the daughter of Miriam and Hugh Mitchell and the younger sister of Phillip and Douglas. She was the light of her father's eyes and was lovingly protected by her two older brothers. As a child, she kept her family on their toes, and as a teenager, she began attracting the attention of her brothers' friends.

Joyce lived in Stoneham, Massachusetts, and Montreal, Canada, before graduating from Arlington High School in 1957. She attended Lasell Junior College, earning an associate's degree in early childhood education. After college, she became a flight attendant for Eastern Airlines, based in New York City.

While skiing at Pleasant Mountain in Bridgton, Maine, Joyce met Robert Schrader. They married in 1961 and raised their family throughout Maine and New Hampshire. Joyce later returned to school at the University of Maine, earning a bachelor's degree in home economics with a focus on interior design.

Throughout her life, Joyce lived in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Virginia, and Florida and pursued an impressive variety of careers. She was a realtor, paralegal, teacher, business owner, interior designer, Guardian ad litem, and hospice thrift shop manager, among other roles. She brought creativity and determination to everything she did.

In 2011, Joyce married Stephen Wheeler in Fryeburg, Maine with their families present. The Wheelers have loved living in The Villages together for over 15 years, enjoying golf, clubs, social gatherings with their many dear friends and travelling to Hawaii, the Caribbean, Panama Canal, England, and Italy. (Grazie e con affetto, Helen King). Particularly close to Joyce’s heart was the Flight Attendants Club.

Joyce is survived by her husband, Steve; her three children, Robin Crawford; Mark Schrader and his wife, Julia; and Beth Scrimger and her husband, Bruce; as well as 10 grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.

Joyce will be remembered for her adventurous spirit, creativity, independence, and the many stories gathered during a life that took her from the skies to ski slopes, from classrooms to design studios, and through countless homes and new beginnings. She was a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend who leaves behind a lifetime of memories.

The family wishes to extend sincere thanks to Anje Miller of Compassionate Care Hospice (part of Amedisys Foundation) for her kind, candid and tenderhearted care. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to your local hospice organization, or to Amedisys Foundation online (amedisys.com/services/hospice-care/donations/) or by mail to 3854 American Way, Suite A Baton Rouge, LA 70816.

Gatherings of Remembrance are scheduled for Thursday, September 10, 2026 at 10:00 AM at Hiers-Baxley Funeral & Cremation Life Event Center - Buffalo Ridge, 3975 Wedgewood Lane, The Villages, FL 32162 and Monday, October 12, 2026 at 10:00 AM at The Magic Lantern Theater and Innovation Center, 9 Depot Street, Bridgton, ME 04009.`