"Let’s Dance," the theme for this month’s Village View Newsletter, was personified by Gene and Joyce Smith whirling around the dance floor while the Bugaboo Band played. Their complementary choreography and skillful teamwork are models for joyful living!
Gene grew up in Huntington Park, California, while Joyce hails from Pennsylvania. Both attended UCLA, but didn’t know one another there. After a stint with the Seabees in Okinawa and Guam, Gene graduated from Cal, Berkeley, and had his own architectural firm in West Los Angeles for forty-five years. From early childhood, Joyce was interested in dress design. She worked in her father’s dress shops, studied fashion design at UCLA, designed for two California manufacturers, Peggy Hunt and Jeannette Alexander, plus two years in London. She also taught design at LA Trade Tech College.
Gene and Joyce tell slightly different stories about being "single again" and meeting in Pacific Palisades. Gene’s version relates spotting Joyce, appealing in a tennis dress. Joyce insists she was walking her cat (yes, on a string!) and encountering Gene in his garden. Romance blossomed; they were married a year and a half later and lived in the Palisades for thirty-six years before moving recently to their UVTO villa.
About that joyful life. . . Gene discovered the joy of acting, when with no experience he auditioned at Theatre Palisades, a community venue. He didn’t land a part the first time, but on his second try became an ensemble member in Cabaret, the first of many roles. He took singing lessons, which opened new avenues of performance. Joyce took a different path utilizing her skills and "became the costume department" for the same theater. They worked on three or four productions a year, including a few with the Culver City Civic Light Opera and the Starlight Theater in Burbank. They have taken CLU classes; Joyce assisted with some costumes for the successful "Into the Woods."
Always venturesome, the Smiths lived in the south of France for eight months in 1982. Loving it, they purchased an apartment there, staying each summer for ten or eleven years and sometimes renting a "drive yourself boat" to cruise the French canals. They still return to Europe annually, often enjoying visits with Joyce’s godchildren there.
This couple enjoys gardening, playing tennis regularly and hiking. Gene writes poetry and sings in convalescent homes; Joyce has been working in water colors for some time, and though "not successfully so far, I’m still trying." Two cats have a prime place in the family - Oreo hides from a visitor, but Sesame insists on a greeting and loves attention.
You’re an upbeat influence at University Village, Gene and Joyce. Thanks for being hospitable and noteworthy neighbors. And keep dancing!