Joyce Lawrence

Doon, IA: Joyce Lawrence, 90, of Rock Valley, Iowa formerly of Doon, Iowa died Thursday, October 23, 2014 at the Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. With Joyce at her passing was her lifelong friend and younger sister, Joan Ray Smith. Funeral service will be held at 1:30 p.m., Monday, October 27, 2014 at the First United Methodist Church in Doon. Rev. Steven Swenson will officiate. Burial will follow at Hillside Cemetery. Visitation with the family will be held Sunday, October 26, 2014 from 2:00-4:00 p.m. at Porter Funeral Home in Rock Valley. Condolences for the family may be left online at www.porterfuneralhomes.com. Memorials may be directed to the First United Methodist Church in Doon, Iowa.

Joyce was a tireless advocate for her church, her schools, her community, and those in life who were less fortunate than her. She lived her entire life in Doon, Iowa, except for a brief stint at the Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

She ended her life as she lived it: with a party. Joyce and her lifelong partner, husband, and friend, Galen Scott (Bud) celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary with family the night before her death. Married during the height of World War II, Joyce and Bud were joined together in Joplin, Missouri. It was one of those war-time ceremonies with only a preacher and his wife in attendance, with no reception and fanfare following. And no cake. At the evening celebration on their 70th last Wednesday (October 22, 2014), her daughter-in-law, Marlys, brought a wedding cake. “I had to wait 70 years for this,” said Joyce. “And at last I finally have one.”

Her children and her friends cannot remember even a day when Joyce was not bubbling with optimism, encouraging others on to be positive and tackle even the hardest tasks in life with joy.

Faced with moving from their 50 year farm home to an assisted living facility and realizing the need to downsize, Joyce parted with earthly possessions with ease, hosting a giant auction sale to disperse it. “There are things in life you just have to do,” she said, “and you need to be positive and get at it. Get it done.”

Her sons, Scott and Craig, remember Joyce’s never-give-up spirit of adventure, including episodes of storm chasing, Civil War battleground tours, and her many plays and stories used in celebrations at her church and community anniversaries.

Times were hard on the farm in the 50’s and 60’s, and though Joyce could operate a tractor as well as Bud, she spent nights and weekends getting a college degree in elementary education. Many hundreds of students enjoyed the imagination present in her classroom. She also served as principal of schools in Doon and Rock Rapids. Her earnings from teaching paid for college degrees for Scott and Craig at the University of South Dakota, just as she had planned.

Joyce is survived by her husband, Galen of Rock Valley; two sons, Scott and his wife Marlys (DeRoo) Lawrence and Craig and his wife Marcia (Mostrom) Lawrence, both of Sioux Falls, South Dakota; 5 grandchildren, Anne, Betsy, Ralph, David, and Christopher; as well as 6 great-grandchildren; and sister Joan Ray Smith.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Ralph and Alice Ray; and her sisters, Jackie Ray Vermeer and Jean Ray Laury.

Visitation

2:00 - 4:00 p.m. ,Sunday, October 26, 2014
Porter Funeral Home ~ Rock Valley
1704 15th Street Rock Valley, Iowa 51247

Funeral Service

1:30 p.m. ,Monday, October 27, 2014
First United Methodist Church
Doon, IA 51235