Joyce H. Womack, a bus and rail supervisor for the state Mass Transit Administration, died Monday of cancer at Northwest Hospital Center. The Woodlawn resident was 43.

She joined the MTA in 1977 as a bus driver and was promoted to bus supervisor in 1982. Her responsibilities included the on-time performance of the system's buses and service problems.

In 1987, she was made a rail supervisor on the Metro and in that position coordinated the operation of trains and schedules, and oversaw the operation of the subway system's stations.

"Mrs. Womack was a credit to the MTA for 17 years," said MTA Administrator John A. Agro Jr.

Jake Nudelman, superintendent of Metro operations, said, "Joyce's death is a great loss. She was always coming up with new ideas to serve our customers better."

Arvey Jones, chief Metro supervisor, called Miss Womack "an exceptional person, a leader, a motivator and a dedicated and efficient supervisor. She was also a concerned friend."

Mrs. Womack was born in Durham, N.C., and came to Baltimore in 1951 with her parents. She attended city schools and worked in a factory for several years.

Services were to be held at 11:30 a.m. today at Rising Sun First Baptist Church, 2211 St. Luke's Lane, Woodlawn, where she had been a longtime member.

Her two marriages ended in divorce.

She is survived by two sons, David Harris and Todd Womack, and two daughters, Shannon Lindsey and Bettie Harris-Lane, all of Baltimore; two brothers, Samuel Chapel of Clayton, N.C., and Anthony Stowe of Selma, N.C.; two sisters, Bettie Sherman and Verda Stone, both of Baltimore; her mother, Bettie Stowe of Baltimore; a grandson; and a special friend, Jessie McNair of Baltimore.

Memorial donations may be made to the American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 43025, Baltimore 21236-0025.