TRAVELERS REST—Poor Clare Sister Joyce Munson, one of the founding members of the local Monastery of St. Clare, died Jan. 30 in Marietta. She was 81.
The Mass of Christian burial and burial were held Feb. 5 at the monastery.
Sister Joyce was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, on May 20, 1934, the daughter of Martin and Julia Lauda Munson. The family moved to Manhattan, N.Y., when she was a baby and she attended PS 94 Elementary School, then Hunter College High School and graduated from Holy Cross Academy. She worked at Manufacturer’s Trust Bank in Manhattan, but after six months entered the Monastery of St. Clare in Jamaica Plain, Mass., on Nov. 21, 1951.
On March 1, 1955, Sister Joyce was one of 12 sisters who moved to South Carolina to establish a monastery in Greenville at the invitation of Bishop John J. Russell, They later relocated to Travelers Rest.
Sister Joyce had a place in her heart for all who suffered discrimination and spent her life praying for them. In a blog on the Poor Clares website, she wrote: “From the beginning of my vocation, I have always been very aware of the great needs in the world … the needs of individuals and of groups and nations. That’s why I was in such a hurry to enter the monastery and get started doing what I could to help. I know my efforts are not worth much but, united to Christ in the Incarnation, my life can be valuable. I think I’m living the life for which God created me.”
In addition to her Poor Clare sisters, she is survived by her cousins, Paul and Charlotte Lauda of Moncks Corner; and Betty Goodman of Pound Ridge, N.Y.
Memorial donations may be made in her name to the Poor Clares at the Monastery of St. Clare, 37 McCauley Road, Travelers Rest, SC 29690.
