Charlotte Joy Wayman
October 2, 1923- March 4, 2015
Joy gently passed away at her home in Santa Paula after a long passionate life. Born with a twin brother on a farm in Montello, Wisconsin to Elizabeth and Archie Harring, Joy studied at the University of Wisconsin before riding the train out to Hollywood to marry Don Wayman in 1947. There, she finished her B.S. degree in Home Economics at U.C.L.A. in 1949. Then, she began her career at the Los Angeles Examiner, first as a copy editor in the Prudence Penny Department, then, writing under the name Mary Wise, she wrote a weekly advice column for homemakers and made guest spots on radio station KFI. Many of her recipes and sewing projects were featured in the newspaper. Later, while raising four children, she worked for the firm, Infoplan, inventing recipes, designing clothing, and lobbying in Sacramento for clients such as, Rolled Gold Pretzels, Stevens Utica Towels and Diamond International Paper Company. She showed her creations on daytime television when T.V. was king in the 1960's. Known for her high energy, she was a leader of Camp Fire Girl and 4-H groups teaching camping, fire starting, sewing, crafting, needlework, farm skills and animal husbandry. She was a link from the past to the future of farming, taking goods from farm to table, or in many cases, other rooms in her home: helping her daughter raise a sheep at her Studio City home, she sheared it, spun the wool, knitted a sweater and wove pillows from the yarn. She judged the pies at the L.A. County Fair for many years, and always had a freshly baked pie on the kitchen counter. And she sewed many clothes for her family. She was a member of the Briarcliff Needlework Guild and Home Economists in Business, holding gourmet meals and helping younger women succeed in business. (Always cherishing her friends, her devotion to women in these groups lasted her lifetime.) As an executive at Diamond in the 1970's, she became convinced that microwave ovens would soon be in every home, so she invented a paper microwave tray. At the time, however, few at the company believed microwaves would sell, so she produced them herself. And always she loved and raised all manner of plants, especially tropical flowering ones she brought home from Hawaii, such as hibiscus, plumaria, bananas and pineapples. She and Don bought a lemon and avocado ranch for "retirement" in Santa Paula. So she took citrus farming classes at Pierce Junior College. Later, she took paper-making, silk painting, and silk screen printing at Ventura College and mastered hand weaving. She and daughter Christina were among the first avocado farmers selling at the Santa Monica Farmer's Market in the early 1980's. In Santa Paula, she worked at the food share program and continued her study of Spanish. When Alzheimer's disease finally slowed her flurry of activity, she was as comfortable speaking in Spanish as she was in English. She inspired many around her to love children, birds, gardening, farming, fiber arts, the Spanish language, and to keep learning throughout life. Joy is survived by her caretaker Maria, her husband Don, her four children, Jim (Kristina), Wendy (Tim), Tom and Christina (Michael) and her beloved grandchildren Kirsten, Haleigh, Olivia, Jarrett, and Sebastian. A celebration of her life will be held in Santa Paula in July.