Joyce D. Sapp, 69, worked in nursing homes with the elderly

JOYCE SAPP was curious about her family background, and discovered that she had some Apache back there.

And she joined with a man who had Cherokee in his family background. A lot of African-Americans discover some American Indian ancestry if they care to dig deeply into it. And Joyce did.

Her interest in both American Indian and African-American history became a passion, and she enjoyed reading about it and passing her knowledge on to her children and grandchildren.

Joyce D. Sapp, who worked for many years in nursing homes, mostly in the suburbs where she found satisfaction in helping senior citizens, died of cancer on Jan. 21. She was 69 and was living in Atlanta, but had lived most of her life in West Philadelphia.

History and music were Joyce's passions. When her children were teenagers, she enjoyed rap. She also liked to groove to oldies and jazz, but her major interest was in gospel.

She was a fan of the Rev. James Cleveland, and his signature song, "I Don't Believe He Brought Me This Far to Leave Me," and Walter Hawkins' "I'm Going Away."

She was also a fan of gospel singers Mahalia Jackson and Jerry Caesar.

Joyce was born in Elizabeth, N.J., one of the 10 children of Arthur and Elizabeth Sapp. The family moved to Philadelphia, and Joyce graduated from Overbrook High School.

"The beloved Joyce D. Sapp was a sweet and gentle woman," her daughter Kahn-Tinetta "Jill" Ross wrote in a tribute. "She loved her family, especially her children and grandchildren, because they were a part of her. She knew the struggles and trials she endured in her life, so she tried to shield her family from this evil world.

"Joyce was a wealth of knowledge in music and African-American culture. She was very interested in native tribes, and she taught her kids early in life about our Native American history.

"Joyce stayed to herself, but had a few close friends she grew up with, and they stayed friends with her until the end."

Joyce and her longtime companion, Billy F. Ross, were mainstays of the close-knit Overbrook/Carroll Park neighborhood around 56th Street and Lansdowne Avenue.

She began her spiritual journey at the Garden of Prayer Church of God in Christ, in North Philadelphia. It was the site of the healing ministry of the famed Mother Elizabeth Dabney, who drew the faithful from around the world.

In the past five months, Joyce lived in Atlanta, where she was a member of the Garden of Prayer Family Worship Center. Her sister, Shirley Sapp-Davenport, is an elder there.

Besides her daughter and sister, she is survived by two sons, Wayne and James Sapp; another daughter, Teresita Ross; three other sisters, Delores Sapp-Holland, Loretta Sapp-Gordon and Carolyn Sapp; three brothers, Walter Jackson, Arthur Sapp Jr. and John Sapp, and six grandchildren.

Services: 11 a.m. today at the Francis Funeral Home, 52nd Street and Whitby Avenue. Friends may call at 9 a.m. Burial will be at Fernwood Cemetery.