Joyce Winifred Wert

Joyce Winifred (Burhans) Wert, 96, Kingston, passed away on Monday, October 07, 2013 at home. She was born April 17, 1917 in Kingston to the late William and Bertha (Styles) Burhans. She was married to George Wert, they wed on November 17th 1945. George passed away on March 3rd 1999. Joyce graduated in 1935 from Kingston High School where she participated in band and choir and earned her Varsity Letter playing basketball. She also enjoyed swimming, tennis, and ice skating. After high school, she attended the Moran Business School, and worked in the family business, WGB Oil Clarifier, and worked part-time at Schneider's Jewelers. Her last employment was with Artcraft Camera as a driver. She studied voice under the teaching of Reginald Werrenrath a Metropolitan Operatic singer and attended the Ernest Williams School of Music Summer Camps where she continued her music studies on the clarinet and soprano saxophone. For many years she was a Campaign Chairman of the Membership Committee of Community Concert Association which brought outstanding musical attractions to the Kingston area. For a few seasons she sang with the Mid-Hudson Women's Chorus. In 1961 she sang in the Hurley Folk Chorus and performed in the Hurley Folk Cantana for the Hurley Tercentenary. During WWII she was certified by the Army Air Force Aircraft Service as an airplane spotter and received a certificate from the 1st Fighter Command Observer Corps and was awarded a certificate as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Blue Star Brigade for promoting the sale of war bonds. She was certified in First Aid and Emergency Aid through the Red Cross and took a machine shop course to make instruments for the Navy. She sang at band rallies and preformed locally for the USO. She was a life-long member of the 1st Presbyterian Church and was the superintendent of the primary department, director of the Junior Choir, taught Sunday school, was a soprano soloist in the choir, and was a church trustee. When the 1st Presbyterian Church ceased operations, she transferred membership to Hudson River Presbytery. She attended Cross Point Church for a brief time. As a history buff, she joined the Ulster Co. Historical Society, Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War, The Genealogical Society, and the Mifflin County Historical Society in Pennsylvania. She was a member of the Wiltwyck Chapter DAR and was awarded first place nationally for her entry for Heritage Week. She was a previous member of Friends of Historic Kingston. In her later years, she devoted her time to her family, listening to music, gardening, studying local history, charting ancestral lines, and watching sports. She was a fan of the Mets, Jets, and NY Giants. She is survived by her daughters; Cheryl J. Wert of Kingston and Sharen J. Bertholf and her husband Barry of Bloomington, her grandson, Jared Bertholf and his wife Erin, her great grandchildren, Levi and Ivy Bertholf, as well as her half-brother, William Burhans Jr.She is predeceased by her brother and sisters, Hollis, Bernice, and Norma Burhans. Entrusted to the care of Luke Keyser of Keyser Funeral & Cremation Service, 326 Albany Ave., Kingston, where services will be held privately. The family suggests memorial contributions be made to, Hospice Inc., 34 Broadway, Kingston, NY 12401. Light a candle in memory of Joyce at www.KeyserFuneralService.com