By Dennis Richmond Jr.
My paternal grandmother is Joyce Marie Watkins. Joyce was born on July 26th, 1937, in Greenwich, Connecticut. When she was born, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was in office. That same year, Joe Louis had won the heavyweight championship. My grandmother, a strong Black woman, was one of a kind.
Joyce was born in Greenwich and lived with her family in Mamaroneck in 1937. By April 5th, 1940, the family relocated from Mamaroneck to New Rochelle, New York. Her mother, Adele Matilda Merritt, was born in Greenwich and raised in New Rochelle. Joyce and her siblings saw their father, Thomas Sinclair Watkins, Sr., leave for the service. He served honorably in the China Burma India Theatre of Operations in World War II.
Joyce and her siblings attended Albert Leonard Middle School in New Rochelle. She graduated in 1952. The same year, she started high school at New Rochelle High School. Her maternal grandparents would drive her and her siblings to school. One day after school, Joyce was talking to her friend Maxine Venable. The two teenagers went to a card game on North Avenue.
The young men playing cards didn’t want Joyce around. One young man told her, “You can’t be here.” “Why not,” she replied. “Because girls can’t play cards,” he said. That was the last time he ever said that to her. That man, Joe Richmond, ended up dating Joyce. The two of them would go on dates to the movies. At the time, movie tickets were 30 cents apiece.
On July 29th, 1954, Joyce and Joe had their first child, Michael Joseph Richmond. Dennis Richmond, Sr., the couple’s second child, was born on September 30th, 1955. Joyce always made sure that she worked and cared for her family. She loved her children. Joe went into the army, and Joyce took care of her boys. The couple decided to leave New York upon his arrival back home. They relocated to Washington, D.C.
Having a beautiful home with a place for children to play and a successful life at young ages didn’t bring the couple joy. Things didn’t work out in Washington, and Joyce moved back to New York. A few years later, she met Franklin Delano Jones. The couple had a daughter named Charlene Jones. Everything was good. Joyce worked, and Frank worked. By 1975, the family lived in New York City, having had lived in California. Michael was 21, Dennis was 20, and Charlene was 15. Joyce ran a successful daycare in the Bronx. One of the children from her daycare grew up to be a famous actor.
Unfortunately, tragedy struck on October 5th, 1975. Joyce’s son Michael died in the Edenwald section of the Bronx at 21-years-old. A year or two after her Michael died, Joyce and Frank relocated from New York City to Yonkers, New York.
My grandmother went on to live in Yonkers from c. 1977 to 2015. She was a longtime resident of 28 Lamartine Terrace in Yonkers. An almost 40 years Yonkers resident, my grandmother was unique. Joyce never bit her tongue and loved to laugh. Joyce died in Yonkers on February 8, 2015, seven years ago this year. She has deep Westchester County roots too. Her family was in the New York and Connecticut area for centuries. My family is truly a legacy.
Dennis Richmond Jr. lives in Yonkers and is on Twitter @NewYorkStakz. He is a journalist focused on the Black, Latinx, and LGBTQIA+ Community.
