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As reported by her her sister-by-choice Julia Ree (Class of ’75)
JUBILANT JOY KATHERINE SCHUH LONG(’75,) of Riverside, CA, went home to be with her Lord and her parents on Christmas Eve, 2016. Her life will be celebrated January 7, 2017 at First United Methodist Church of Riverside, 4845 Brockton Avenue beginning at 12:30 p.m. with a viewing followed by a service at 1 p.m. and a reception at 2 p.m. Burial will be at the Riverside National Cemetery, Friday, January 13th at 10 a.m. Joy's life involved many passions and commitments of dedicated giving, whether with her time, talents, or rolled up sleeves, ready to take the lead in helping others.
She graduated from Moreno Valley High School in 1975 as class valedictorian. She continued her lifelong love of learning at UC Riverside, earning a teaching credential and a master's degree. Joy was an exemplary second-grade teacher at Alcott Elementary School, emphasizing science, math, and the Arts. Her many musical programs involved and engaged the entire school. Early in her 30-year career she earned Teacher of the Year Award at Alcott and her teaching style and dedication positively impacted hundreds of children. Music was a particularly important part of Joy's life from the Madrigals at MVHS to ultimately being a founding member of Raincross Master Chorale. Her strong, vibrant soprano voice often graced programs with solo and collaborative work and she made every concert she sang more beautiful and meaningful because of it.
Joy was a lifelong preeminent collector of Garfield the Cat memorabilia, known throughout this worldwide community and personally to the Jim Davis Family. Her dedication to that orange kitty played a very important role in her life. Joy was also a collector of Hallmark Christmas ornaments often going to conventions and artist signings. She was a charter member of the Inland Empire Ornament SWAG and also heavily participated in the Ornamenteers of San Dimas.
Joy is survived by her beloved companion and husband Jess Long; her older brother Robert Schuh and her sisters-by-choice Julia Ree (with husband Bob) and Claire Lacson. She also leaves behind three godchildren, Chris, James, and Paula and hundreds of friends, all of whom she considered dear and vital to her life.
In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Jubilant Joy Schuh may be made to any of the following worthy causes: Alcott Elementary School Library (Phone: (951) 788-7451); Mary S. Roberts Pet Adoption Center, Riverside, California
(http://www.petsadoption.com); or Raincross Master Chorale Scholarship Fund (http://www.raincrossmasterchorale.org/patrons) Joy loved to laugh and shop and help and give. The world has been blessed with an angel whose life was too intense to remain. We love you Joy and will miss you forever.
Published in Press-Enterprise on Jan. 6, 2017 -
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Michael Sorich (1975)
Joy was not only our class Valedictorian, but also a treasured classmate of everyone from the Class of 1975. She was kind, talented, very humble, friendly, super intelligent and spent her entire life enriching and educating others. A truly great Lady Viking. She will be missed-Long live her Memory.
Mari Perrone (1973)
This is very sad to read. I didn't know Joy or her brother well but we lived next door to them at March and her mother and mine were good friends. My mother always opened the windows when we heard Mrs. Schuh singing opera so we could enjoy it as well! Joy must have inherited that stunning voice. And her father bailed me out a few times with car trouble when my father was on Okinawa. They were an explemplary family and Joy was always kind to me.
Jim Hammer (1976)
Joy Schuh and I went to high school together. We were both in drama and madrigals. Joy was incredibly gifted and a hard worker...she was the only student in the class of 1975 who managed straight "A's" for four years, and she was awarded the valedictorian speech at the graduation ceremony.
I don't know what great plans Joy had. We never discussed anything post-college. I do remember that when we walked around the campus, the counselors and administrators would stop their work and come over to chat with her.
I was a bit surprised when I googled her a few years back to see that she had become a primary teacher of grade 2, and in addition to keeping up with her daily lessons, she produced musicals for her school.
Joy had an incredibly strong soprano voice with stage-like projection. She was a soloist in Dennis Fast’s Madrigals, and starred as the Baroness Elsa Schraeder in Karen Daniel's production of the Sound of Music. She also played the flute and sat first chair in Caesar Ricci's band.
I lost track of Joy after high school. I tried to reconnect, but she wasn't on Facebook, and I was uncertain about sending an email to her workplace ... it had been 40 years since the Junior/Senior prom.
She was beautiful that night...She was talented, intelligent, and I felt very out-classed. That year the prom went on a harbor cruise. I remember feeling awkward and clumsy and at a loss for words...
I always assumed we would meet again one day, maybe at one of those drama reunions, and we would talk about those funny old times, and sum up our lives since then, and I hoped to hear that her life was full of happiness and ... joy.