Joyce Crider

Joyce Ann Crider, 85 of Alpharetta, Georgia died on January 29, 2024. She was born on Jan. 15, 1939 at Georgia Baptist Hospital, Atlanta. She was preceded in death by her parents, Alton Buel Crider and Leila Ruth Owen Crider, her brother Alton Ray Crider and his wife Edith Roberts Crider. Joyce is survived by nieces Bonita Smith and Laura Riviere, nephews Daniel and Ben Crider and their families, as well as her beloved cat, Deric.

In 1957, Joyce was baptized at Sacred Heart Church in Atlanta, and two years later she entered religious life as a School Sister of Notre Dame, where she took the name Sister Damian Marie. She received her Bachelors degree in Education from the College of Notre Dame of Maryland in Baltimore in 1969, and a Masters degree in Education from Georgia State University in 1972. During her time as a religious sister, she taught elementary school in SC, MD and several locations in GA. In 1970, she left her religious community and began a career in religious education that continued until her retirement. From 1972-1978, she served as director of religious education for the U.S. Army at Ft. Benning and Massena Catholic Schools in Massena, NY. During that time, she began authoring religious education content for Paulist Press, which led to a long career as an author and editor of K-12 resources for W.H. Sadlier and later as owner of Visual Dynamics, her own publishing enterprise. In the early 2000’s, Joyce worked with the National Conference of Catechetical Leadership in Washington, D.C. Upon her return to Atlanta, she served as director of religious education at St. Benedict Catholic Church in Duluth and Transfiguration Catholic Church in Marietta.

She was an active member of her small faith community at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Alpharetta for thirty years and enjoyed spending time with her many friends and neighbors.

A mass celebrating Joyce’s life will take place on Monday, Feb. 12, 2024 at 11 AM at Transfiguration Catholic Church in Marietta, GA. The mass will be livestreamed at transfiguration.com. Burial will be at Sandy Plains Cemetery North, Marietta, Georgia.