Joyce Mae Sellers

Funeral services for JOYCE MAE SELLERS, 97, will be held 10am Wednesday June 19, 2024, at the United Methodist Church with Reverend Jeff Wayland officiating. Burial will follow in the Valley View Cemetery. The casket will be closed. Joyce passed away June 3, 2024, at Riverside Community Hospital in Riverside, California where she lived with her daughter Barbara for the past six years. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to either the Torrington Senior Friendship Center or the United Methodist Church. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the Colyer Funeral Home and condolences may be sent to www.colyerfuneralhome.com Joyce Mae Edwards was born on October 11, 1926, on her family ranch north of Trinidad, CO to Nellie Mae (LePlatte) and Ben T. Edwards. She attended Trinidad schools and graduated from Trinidad High School. She studied for and completed her degree in Education at the University of Wyoming. She met her future husband, Wayne Sellers, at the university and they married in Trinidad, CO on June 22, 1947. They then moved to the Sellers’ farm in Torrington, where they farmed and raised 5 daughters. After her daughters started school, Joyce began teaching first grade in Lingle, WY. This was one of the joys of her life, and she always enjoyed catching up with her students over the years. Wayne began working at the Holly Sugar plant in Torrington during campaign and then year-round. Joyce continued teaching in Lingle. In 1969, Wayne was offered a job at the Holly Sugar Plant in Hereford, TX. After a year there, they moved on to Brawley, CA, then to Santa Ana, CA, and finally, in 1989, to Holly Sugar Corporate Headquarters in Colorado Springs, CO. Joyce and Wayne enjoyed hosting cadets from the Air Force Academy while they lived in Colorado Springs. The bonds they made with those cadets have endured over the years. In 2000, Joyce and Wayne returned to Torrington to live on the farm. For the next 17 years, they enjoyed refurbishing their farm home and reconnecting with longtime friends and neighbors. After Wayne’s passing in 2017, Joyce moved to Riverside, CA to live with her daughter Barbara. Joyce is survived by four daughters, Cathy Murillo (Ben) of Sacramento, CA, Becky Wyatt (Don) of Cave Creek, AZ, Barbara Sellers (Jeanne) of Riverside, CA, and Suzanne Chowla of Redwood City, CA and by her niece, Zella White (Phil) of Joshua, TX and Zella’s daughter, Meridith. She is also survived by two grandsons, Chris Murillo and Alex (Leslie) Murillo and four great-grandchildren, Oscar, Victor, Delmon and Ellis. She was preceded in death by her husband Wayne, her daughter Jean, and her parents and siblings.

Joyce Mae Sellers

October 11, 1926 - June 3, 2024