Joyce Eileen Lemke

Joyce (Kruse) Lemke was born in Denver, Colorado in 1951. She attended college at her beloved Nebraska Wesleyan University. She was very intelligent, always getting perfect grades and graduated magna cum laude. Also, she was a proud sorority sister of Alpha Gamma Delta. During college, she backpacked through Europe with complete strangers. She joined Vista Volunteers, now known as Ameri Corps, again knowing no one. She loved being a big sister, and had a strong, deep and lifelong bond with Lynda (Kruse) Schrope

In 1975, she married Alan Lemke and just celebrated 50 years of marriage last year. Together they explored the outdoors, camping and hiking and going to the Rocky Mountains and the Black Hills. Joyce enjoyed reading, writing, and gardening. In 1980 she had a son named David, who was very blessed to have a mom like her as a role model and admired her deeply. One thing that stands out about her is that she never cared about material things. Instead, she valued her family, friends, and people that came into her life. She was always willing to lend an ear, and not just passively. Joyce let women into her life from all different paths, and she really cared and befriended them.

Lastly, a tribute to her wouldn’t be complete without writing about her great faith. You would think a person that made so many of the right choices in life would live on cloud nine, but that wasn’t the case. She was a four-time cancer survivor, sadly suffered from nerve pain, and Alzheimer’s that took her life. Yet her faith never failed. She would spread the good news of Jesus to anyone that would listen. She loved the Lord intensely, and there is no doubt that the second she left this earth she was immediately in the arms of the Father. “Well done, good and faithful servant!”