PORTLAND— Joyce K. (Elliott) Yankowsky, 76, died at Mercy Hospital on Oct. 5 following years of declining health. Most recently she was a resident at the South Portland Nursing Home. She was a communicant of Holy Cross Church in South Portland.

Yankowsky was born Nov. 21, 1935, the daughter of George and Margaret Elliott. She was educated at Cathedral School in Portland. After school, she worked for many years at the First National Bakery in Portland, retiring in 1971 to become a full-time homemaker. Yankowsky was an avid reader, sometimes reading entire novels in a single evening. She also possessed a vast knowledge of movie trivia, able to relate the details of almost any movie she watched, including the year a movie was made, actors, directors and musical scores. Joyce also served as a layperson at Holy Cross Church for many years.

She married her husband, Henry Yankowsky, Sept. 18, 1954, in Portland. They raised their three children in South Portland.

She was predeceased by her parents; her husband, Henry; and her brother, Richard Elliott.

Yankowsky is survived by her son, Henry and his wife, Karon; two daughters, Margaret Peters, of Portland and Janet Yankowsky and her fiance, Shawn Lambert, of Casco; her brother, George Elliott and his wife, Maybelline, of Lake Buena Vista, Fla.; and granddaughter Gabrielle Sloan, of Gorham.
    
The family thanks the staff at the South Portland Nursing Home for the years of devoted care.
    
A funeral will be held 11 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 10, at Holy Cross Church, corner of Broadway and Cottage Street in South Portland. Burial will follow at Calvary Cemetery on Broadway in South Portland.

Those who wish may make contributions in Yankowsky’s memory to: American Diabetes Association, Portland Maine Division, P.O. Box 11454, Alexandria, VA 22312.