Joyce Marie Jeffries

Joyce Marie Rusk Jeffries age 84 of Waynetown, passed away unexpectedly at 8:12 PM Tuesday, January 27, 2026 in Witham Memorial Hospital. Lebanon. She was born in rural Fountain County south of Hillsboro on February 16, 1941 the daughter of the late Elton and Martha Harshman Rusk. She married Kenneth W. Jeffries, April 26, 1963 in Hillsboro and he survives.

Joyce and Kenneth were classmates and1959 graduates of Hillsboro High School. She had worked in the restaurant in Hillsboro which is now the Chatterbox and also at Bank One for several years in Crawfordsville. She and her husband purchased the old Wolfe and Himes Fertilizer business in Wingate where she was the bookkeeper/ secretary and operated it for 8 years as Wilson-Wingate Fertilizer. They lived west of Waynetown before moving the Upper Peninsula in Michigan after they sold the fertilizer business. She and Kenneth moved back and have lived in Waynetown since 2013.

Joyce was a member of the former Christian Church in Hillsboro and was active in the Order of Eastern Star. She was a 50 year member and Past Worthy Matron of the Hillsboro OES. She and her husband were members of the Indiana Masonic Home Foundation and the Corinthian Club.

She was a huge Purdue basketball fan!  Joyce and Kenneth loved to snowmobile! They snowmobiled in Michigan, Wisconsin, Canada, Yellowstone National Park, Northern Idaho and parts between. She enjoyed fishing and feeding/watching birds. But her great love was attending her grandchildren and great-grandchildren’s activities.

Surviving along with her husband Kenneth are: a daughter Michelle L. Goodin of New Richmond and a son Tim (Deb) Jeffries of rural Wingate. She was referred to as Granny to her grandchildren; Trevor (Lauren) Jeffries, Kendall (Jack) Frey, Kayla (Tanner) Pierce, Matthew Goodin, Great-grandchildren; Keyton Beard, Keygan Beard, Zane Jeffries, Lennon Jeffries, Blake Pierce, Bo Pierce and a great-grandson due in February! A sister Janet Harris of New Ross also survives. She was preceded in death by her parents and brother Col. James Rusk, USAF Ret, father-in-law Ernest W. Jeffries and mother-in-law Louise Jeffries.

Visitation hours are 5:00 - 8:00 PM Monday, February 2, 2026 with funeral services, Tuesday, February 3, at 11:00 AM with Jim Wininger officiating, at Family and Friends Funeral Home of Wingate. Burial will follow in Waynetown Masonic Cemetery. Memorial contributions are preferred to Montgomery County Special Olympics. Visit us online at www.familyandfriendsfh.com to sign the guest book or share a memory.