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Jo Ann "Joni" Styf (Golczynski)

July 13, 1959 - October 3, 2022
Grand Rapids, MI

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Visitation

Friday, October 7, 2022
6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Heritage Life Story Funeral Homes
Alt & Shawmut Hills Chapel
2120 Lake Michigan Dr., N.W.
Grand Rapids, MI 49504
(616) 453-8263

Rosary at 8 PM

Driving Directions

Memorial Mass

Saturday, October 8, 2022
11:00 AM EDT
Parish of the Holy Spirit
2230 Lake Michigan Dr. NW
Grand Rapids, MI 49504
1 (616) 453-6369

Visitation from 10 AM until start of Mass

Map
Web Site

Contributions


At the family's request memorial contributions are to be made to those listed below. Please forward payment directly to the memorial of your choice.

Susan G. Komen for the Cure
5005 LBJ Fwy., Ste 250
Dallas, TX 75244
(888) 888-3317
Driving Directions
Web Site

Epilepsy Foundation
Web Site

Flowers


Below is the contact information for a florist recommended by the funeral home.

Ball Park Floral
8 Valley Ave.
Grand Rapids, MI 49504
(616) 459-3409
Driving Directions
Web Site

Life Story / Obituary


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Patient, loving, and kind, Jo Ann "Joni" Styf (Golczynski) lived a life rich in faith, family, and friends. Naturally warm and compassionate, Joni went out of her way to support others, always offering comfort in times of need. She was selfless, understanding, and patient and listened to others as though they were the most important person in the world. While private, Joni also enjoyed being social and the good company of others. With a warm, welcoming smile, she greeted everyone as a friend. Whether a stranger, longtime friend or family member, everyone felt better for the gift of sharing time with Joni. Beautiful in every way, her greatest joy was spoiling her grandchildren and spending quality time with those she loved most. Cherished by all who were blessed to know her, Joni will long be remembered and so very missed.

The 1950s were known as the decade of the Baby Boomer. With the Great Depression and WWII firmly in the past, the decade centered around family. Jobs were abundant, and simple things like buying a home and raising children became the focus for most. Whether catching a ball game or watching TV, family time was the goal, and hope for the future was the norm. With this hope, Richard and Eileen (Hinton) Golczynski welcomed their daughter, Joni, into their family on July 13, 1959, in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The seventh of the nine Golczynski kids, Joni grew up in the good company of her many siblings.

Along with Susie, Tom, Kathy, Mike, Pam, Dan, Patti, and Shelly, Joni lived with their mother on the northwest side of Grand Rapids after their parents divorced while Joni was in elementary school. When Joni's mother met Bob Brimmer, who was ten years her junior, fell in love, and married in 1968, the family moved to the 9 Mile and Stage area.

A student at St. Adalbert, Joni enjoyed participating on the junior high swim team. While attending West Catholic High School, she had many friends and enjoyed an active social life.

A year after graduating with the class of 1977, Joni met Bob Styf at a party. The pair began dating and were soon making plans to share the future. On October 25, 1980, the happy couple married in a wedding ceremony at Basilica of St Adalbert.

Upon returning home from their honeymoon in Las Vegas, the newlyweds settled into married life in Apple Ridge Apartments. While Bob worked at Corduroy Rubber, Joni was a bank teller. After moving to Woodrow NW, the couple started a family. Son Joe was born in 1985, Ben in 1988, and Danny in 1991. Joni relished motherhood and creating a loving, supportive home for her family. Her boys recall that she was always available for them to talk to or simply to listen to them. In time, the family moved to 8th St NW.

Members of Holy Spirit Parish, faith was the cornerstone of family life. The boys attended Sacred Heart and West Catholic schools, where Joni generously volunteered in the classroom and for their teams. Joni loved big family meals and get-togethers, especially for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and her favorite meal was steak on the grill. While she liked to go out for both casual and fancy dinners, mealtime was always more about sharing company with loved ones than the food. A Polish girl at heart, Joni loved cooking traditional Polish food and enjoyed creating a big feast for Pulaski weekend. Her famous blueberry cheesecake, lemon bars, and seven-layer bars were unrivaled.

Joni worked many years at Premier Food Service and relished the simple things like tending her flower garden, reading romance novels, and watching the Hallmark Channel for hours. Over the years, she and Bob enjoyed making camping trips to Gun Lake just south of their home and to Rogers City on the northeast shore of Michigan's lower peninsula. Gulf Shores, Alabama, was the family's traditional destination for Spring Break.

While Joni cherished her mother's ring, a necklace that held her mom's diamond, an anniversary ring, and grandmother blanket, she treasured nothing more than her family. She was full of life, had special relationships with her nieces, treated her son's wives as daughters, and loved her grandbabies fiercely. Fun and funny, Joni loved to goof around and give her kids a hard time. Without a doubt, her family was her heart's delight, and she was so very proud of them.

Regardless of life's challenges, Joni consistently chose hope and joy. Even in the face of being diagnosed with cancer in May of 2022, Joni focused on living every moment to the fullest. She retired from Premier, and she and Bob traveled and spent as much time as possible with family. Joni passed away with her beloved family at her side, and in the season she loved the best, Fall.

Though our days with Joni were far too few, each and every moment was a gift we will long treasure. Joni embodied the principles of her faith and, in doing so, proved a powerful role model for how to live a heart-centered life.

Mrs. Jo Ann "Joni" Styf age 63, of Grand Rapids, passed away on October 3, 2022, in the comforts of her family. She was preceded in death by her mother, Eileen Brimmer; father, Richard (Midge) Golczynski; mother-in-law, Betty Styf; father-in-law, John Styf; and sister-in-law, Shirley Grego. Joni is survived by her husband of 42 years, Bob Styf; sons, Joe (Kathleen) Styf, Ben (Katie) Styf, and Dan Styf; and grandchildren, Easton, Olivia, Jaxson, and Peyton Styf. Also surviving are her step-father, Bob Brimmer; siblings, Susie (Dick) Rogalski, Tom (Judy) Golczynski, Kathy (Pat) Fischer, Mike (Diane) Golczynski, Pam Taylor, Dan (Debbie) Golczynski, Patti (Fritz) Stanitzek and Shelly (Dave) Gregaitis; stepbrother, Ray (Karen) Brimmer; sister-in-law, Barb Atkins; brother-in-law, Dan Grego; and many nieces, nephews, and cousins. Joni was loved by so many & will be deeply missed.

The Memorial Mass will be celebrated at 11 AM on Saturday, October 8, 2022, at Parish of the Holy Spirit, 2230 Lake Michigan Dr. NW. Visitation will take place on Friday from 6-8 PM, followed by a Rosary at Heritage Life Story Funeral Home – Alt and Shawmut Hills Chapel, 2120 Lake Michigan Dr. NW. Contributions in Joni's memory may be given to Susan G. Komen Fund or Epilepsy Foundation. Please visit www.heritagelifestory.com to read Joni's life story, submit a favorite memory or photo, or sign the guestbook.

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