Obituary

Joyce ann long habel, 83, of roanoke formerly of lynchburg, passed away peacefully on tuesday, may 1, 2014.
She was preceded in death by her husband, samuel tilden habel; her parents, nobel merton long and glenna richards long shaffer; her brother, jackson long and her sister, geraldine long hemrick.
She is survived by her children, linda carter (jim) of rowlett, tx, steve crews (rita) of sorrento, fl, mikell hagedorn (chuck) of hopedale, ma, julie wheeler (mitch) of roanoke, va, and jeff crews (chrissy) of durham, nc; her twelve grandchildren, tripp, danielle, caitlin, alexander, mika, c.K., andrew, thomas, mason, vince, michael and gabriel, and one great grandchild, addie.  she is also survived by her brother, richard long and her sister, colleen carpenter.
Joyce was born on march 11, 1931 in charleston, west virginia. She married cecil crews at a young age and started a family.  she understood the importance of education and went back to school when her children were young. She graduated from morris harvey college (university of charleston) in 1961 with a degree in history and  became an elementary school teacher.   joyce continued her education at marshall university where she obtained a masters in educational administration in 1967.  she then became a principal in kanawha county schools. She remarried in 1973 and moved to lynchburg becoming director of elementary education in bedford county schools where she worked in various capacities until she retired in 1996.  after moving to virginia, she continued her education obtaining a certificate in advanced graduate study from virginia tech in 1984.
Joyce loved animals, rescuing many over her lifetime. Her pets were her passion and brought her great joy.
Interment will be private.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the roanoke valley spca, 1340 baldwin ave., n.E., roanoke va 24012.  online condolences may be sent to: www.Barlowbonsall.Com