Our beloved mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother Joyce Ann Buffalo unexpectedly passed away on January 3, 2026. She was born on December 15, 1947, in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas to Jarvey Stephenson and Sue (Lawrence) Stephenson. The family moved to Kankakee, Illinois when Joyce was five years old where she grew up and attended school. Joyce had a passion for cooking and helping others that can be seen throughout her career. She spent eight years working for St. Mary Hospital and Our Lady of Victoria Nursing Home in nutritional services. In Kankakee, she worked for Aramark while raising four daughters. Later in her career, she was transferred to Kansas where she handled nutritional services at Mercy Hospitals in Independence and Fort Scott. After fifteen years at Aramark, she moved to Fort Scott, Kansas and worked at Tri-Valley. She worked there for four years before retiring and moving to Oklahoma.
After retiring, Joyce built a new life with her husband Arthur Robinson Buffalo Jr. who she married on February 22, 2012. They enjoyed camping, antiquing, and attending grandkids’ events until his passing in January of 2016. Following his passing, she moved back to Fort Scott, Kansas where she spent her days spoiling her dog, Coco, enjoying daily meals with her friend Doug, and spending time with family. Joyce will forever be remembered for her sassiness, orneriness, and wit. Her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren were her greatest joy. She loved spending time with family and regaling us all with fun filled stories that kept us on our toes.
She is survived by three daughters, Kristi (Tommy) George of Fort Scott, Shellie Snyder of Oklahoma, and Diana (Dan) Lange of Kansas City. She is also survived by eleven grandchildren, Ashley (Josh) George, Amanda Harper, Joyce (Daniel) Golden, Draven George, Landry George, Cooper George, Jordan Snyder, Lakin Snyder, Christopher Snyder, Jacob Snyder, and Kody Lange, and sixteen great-grandchildren.
She is preceded in death by her husband Arthur Buffalo, her son Michael, her daughter Lynette Steeby, her sister Janie, and her parents Jarvey Stephenson, Sue Duffield, and Arthur Duffield.
Forever in our hearts, her life was a blessing, and her memory is our treasure.
A celebration of life service will be held at 10:00 A.M. Saturday, January 10th at the Cheney Witt Chapel. Memorials are suggested to Care to Share and may be left in care of the Cheney Witt Chapel, 201 S. Main, P.O. Box 347, Ft. Scott, KS 66701. Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at cheneywitt.com.