Joyce wanted to make polvoron. She had never made the Filipino treat before but she had this little burst of energy the day after receiving her third chemotherapy treatment and wanted to do something creative. She was always doing something creative.

“I need a polvoron molder,” she told her husband Allan, “They should have one at Seafood City.” He hopped in their car along with his mom and zoomed through the fog of Daly City. They sent pictures to her of the tin molder and she gave a thumbs up. When Allan got home, he placed the tin molder next to a bag of flour, powdered milk, and pinipig, ingredients Joyce had ordered a week before. By the next day, her energy dissipated and she just wanted to lay on the couch. Weeks later, Allan shelved the polvoron ingredients along with the tin molder. She never got to make her polvoron.

Joyce passed away peacefully on Monday, July 17, 2023 at the home she created and under the care of Allan and brother Boni, four months after experiencing a stroke, seven months after being diagnosed with Stage 4 ovarian cancer, and almost 22 weeks since she attempted to make her polvaron. She was a fighter until the end.

For decades, Joyce worked in the Filipin@ community, especially in the SOMA Pilipinas Filipino Cultural Heritage District of San Francisco. From leading the theater group Teatro ng Tanan and Kearny Street Workshop to helming Bindlestiff Studio with Allan, supporting countless shows and artists, from co-creating KSW’s Celebrate Your Body fashion show to her favorite project of all, producing the Tagalog festival of plays from 2019-2022. Her heart's work and her spirit will have a lasting impact on the San Francisco Filipin@ American community she loved.

Joyce was born and raised in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila to Avelino Juan and Librada Dimalanta. She was the youngest of three brothers and an eldest sister. Her father’s pet name for her was “Chokit”, her pronunciation of the word chocolate as a little girl. Her mom called her “pretty rosebud”. Sadly, her father died in 1974 at the age of 47. That same year, Joyce, along with her mother and brother Boni migrated to Canada upon the petition of her eldest sister Zenny.

While in Manila she attended St. Paul College Elementary School in Pasig and continued at Central Spryfield Elementary School in Halifax. Later, Joyce and her mother returned to Manila where she attended high school at St. Paul College, New Manila in Quezon City. Upon completing her high school, they both returned to Canada where they stayed until Joyce returned again to Manila in 1994 to join her brother Boni who resettled in the Philippines a year earlier.

In January 1995, Joyce met her soon-to-be life partner, Allan S. Manalo during his first visit to the Philippines. Allan, a California-born Filipino and was introduced to Joyce at the Blue Cafe, a gay bar in Malate where many of Manila’s theater artists hung out. At their first meeting, Joyce was not at all interested in Allan, politely shaking his hand like it was a wet noodle. With the help of Melvin Lee, a mutual friend, Joyce was invited to attend a pre-Valentine party Melvin hosted called “The Lonely Hearts Club”. At the party, Joyce gave Allan another chance and the two hit it off immediately. After a whirlwind romance of several dates in the span of a week, Allan left for San Francisco with the promise of seeing Joyce again.