Joice A. Franklin

Joice Franklin, missionary, devoted wife, mother, grandmother, vivacious life-giver, hospitality queen, prankster, bird lover, matchmaker, and faithful servant of God, passed away at the age of 89 on March 22, 2021. Born in Pontiac, Michigan, she felt called to missions early in life. She met her husband, Karl, at the King’s College in Delaware, where she graduated as valedictorian, and later completed a master’s degree in Human Resource Management at Azusa Pacific University. For 32 years, Joice worked with Karl among the Kewa people of the Southern Highlands in Papua New Guinea, translating the New Testament into two unwritten minority languages, and initially typing them on a manual typewriter. She later returned at age 70 to help revise the two New Testaments. Joice excelled, whether in village life, or teaching in Australia, New Zealand, and England. She knew no stranger. She could ferret out your marital and spiritual status in minutes, earning you a coveted spot on her prayer list. Her final testimony in the ICU was this: “God has been so faithful to me. There should be another word besides ‘faithful,’ to express how God has been.” She wanted to die in peace, not turn 90 (“Ugh, that sounds so old”), and be faithful to God to the end. Her prayers were answered. Joice will be missed by her husband of 65 years, Karl; children, Kirk and Karol; six grandchildren, three great-grandchildren in Australia and the US; and her brother, Dwight. The family is grateful to the staff at Providence Hospital, ICU, and Hospice. A service celebrating Joice’s life will be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to: The Wopa Eka Endowment Fund, Dallas International University; or Dayspring Baptist Church, Waco, Texas. The family invites you to leave a message or memory on our “Tribute Wall” at www.WHBfamily.com.