Joyce Leigh Wheeler was a character on the series, Harpers Falls: New Beginnings. She was played by actress Georgia Engel, best known for her role of Georgette Franklin Baxter on the Mary Tyler Moore show.
Following the real-life death of Georgia Engel, the role was also written as to she had died off-screen.
Jeff and Patricia's editor sister[]
For many years, not a lot was known of Joyce. Except that she is the sister of Patricia Wheeler; the late Violet Harper (nee Wheeler) and her brother, Jeff.
For a long time, it was not sure where Joyce fit into the world of the Wheelers, but later, she was revealed to have a head for business and journalism, much like Patricia's husband, William Lambert.
After she graduated school, Joyce attended Georgetown University in Washington, DC, and proceeded to stay there and worked for the Washington Post.
She mileaged almost 40 years of journalism excellence. After she retired, she bought shares of a small alternative newspaper in Boston, upon realizing that Patricia was still alive.
A bit on the daffy side, but with a warm and loving heart, Joyce was always on the go for a story, which is astonishing for a woman her age, but, as she says, "Journalism is in my blood. And I never have tired blood!"
Sadly, Joyce passed away from natural causes at the age of 70. The Boston Standard, which she owned at the time of her death, is still family owned and is owned by her niece, Caitlyn Lambert Donaldson. She maintains it as her aunt had done, as an alternative publication with a decidedly liberal slant.