MONROE - JOYCE MAE HIGGINS passed away on Saturday, September 16, 2023, at Reformed Church Home in Old Bridge. She was 88 years old.

Born in Cheesequake, to Richard and Mildred Wood (née Leming), she resided in Old Bridge Township for 55 years, before settling down in Monroe Township in 2011.

Prior to retiring, she worked as a Book Keeper for various locations for over 30 years.

In her leisure time, she enjoyed watching Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune, and she loved crosswords and word searches.

Joyce was predeceased by her husband of 56 years, her high school sweetheart, Robert J. Higgins, who passed on October 31, 2010; her sisters, Phyllis Cosgrove, Esther Lamberson, Lois Drost; and her granddaughter, Lisa Donato, who passed in 2021.

Surviving are her daughters, Deborah and her husband, William Donato, of Monroe Township, and Lynn Richards, of Nutley; her grandchildren, Robert (Heather), Amy, (Gianluca), Stephen; and her great-grandchildren, Felicia, Philip, Izabella, Amelia, and Alessia.

Cremation service will be private.

Memorial contributions in honor of Joyce may be made to either the Boys Town Non-Profit Organization or to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.