Joyce Hildegarde Thielen

1933 - 2025

Joyce Hildegarde Thielen, world traveler, lifelong learner, and lover of children and animals, passed from this plane of existence on August 20, 2025, at her Roseville home, surrounded by loved ones.

Joyce was born July 25, 1933 in Pierz, Minnesota to Philip Joseph and Corintha "Cora" Marie (Eull), the fourth of eight children, and the first daughter. Despite the small town celebrity that accompanied her ties to family owned, though not yet world famous, Thielen Meat Market, Joyce had dreams of the wider world. She married, relocated to California, and soon after became a mother. As her family continued to grow, so did the list of cities she had called home: San Diego, Long Beach, Monterey, Oxford (MS), and Alexandria (VA).

Joyce eventually returned to her Minnesota roots, and enrolled at the University of Minnesota, completing her Bachelor of Arts in Education in 1983. Although older than more traditional students, Joyce fit right in, helping to form a study group that labeled themselves the "Sociological Deviance Group." Her college years earned not merely a degree, but lifelong friends as well.

While in college, Joyce embarked on an around the world trip that incorporated a lengthy stay in India as part of a Foreign Study Seminar. Following graduation, Joyce continued to indulge her love of travel. She organized custom travel tours for choral groups and reaped the benefits of personal travel as well. By the time of her final international trip, at the age of 85, she had visited six continents - only missing Antarctica.

Joyce's travels exposed her to not only other people and cultures, but also crushing poverty and inequity. Possessing a generous nature and charitable spirit, she had taught her children that everyone should be treated with dignity and respect. Her travel experiences reinforced these beliefs. Throughout her long life, she was a regular donor to many charitable organizations, and even sponsored a child in Guatemala. Joyce never met a baby she didn't want to hold nor an animal she didn't want to pet. Children unfailingly brought a smile to her face, and she tried to do the same for them. Her very last trip, shortly before her 92nd birthday, was to visit some of her great-grandchildren and meet her newest great-grandson.

Beloved, by so many, Joyce was Honorary Mom to Frank and Janet, Honorary Grammie to Jenny, Mathew, Paul, and Allison, as well as a lifelong friend to James.

Joyce is survived by five siblings: Norm (Lila), Mary Gwen (Robert) Miller, Gregory (Barb), Stef Carney, and Beth (Bill) Lammer; her six children: Paula (Luis) Galvan, Mary Faith Squires, Leslie Thielen, Lisa (Peter) Gravett, Grace Thielen, and Christopher Squires; grandchildren: Christina, Shanna (Brad), Philip (Jordan), and Andrew (Elizabeth); as well as great-grandchildren: Carter, Joshua, Zachary, Owen, Rylee Joyce, Francis, Luciana, Grace, Paul, Benedict, Jessica, Andrew, and Brianna.

She was preceded in death by brother Lerald (1977), her father Phil (1988), her mother Cora (1997), granddaughter Lynn (2015), longtime partner Gene (2015), brother Chuck (2019), and granddaughter Sarah Joyce (2024).

In lieu of flowers, donations to Heifer International (www.heifer.org) or San Lucas Mission in Guatemala (www.sanlucasmission.org) are welcomed.

A funeral service will be held on Saturday, September 6, 2025, at Noon at the Cremation Society of Minnesota, 7110 France Avenue South, Edina, MN 55435. Visitation at Noon, service at 1:00 pm, with a luncheon to follow.