Bickford, Janice “Joy”

On the morning of January 2, 2026, Janice “Joy” Bickford, age 98, passed away peacefully. Joy was born on August 18, 1927, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the youngest child of Earling and Henrietta (Johnson) Swan. She was raised on a 120-acre dairy farm in Waukesha County, where she walked a mile and a half to a one-room schoolhouse and developed a lifelong love of music. She began piano lessons in third grade, violin lessons in sixth grade, and played violin throughout high school.

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• January 5, 2026