Joyce McAnelly

Joyce G. McAnelly, age 90 of North Haledon, died peacefully on April 25, 2020 at the Holland Christian Home.  Throughout the years, Joyce lived in Des Moines, Iowa, Raleigh, North Carolina, Madison, Wisconsin, Park Forest, Illinois, Wayne, New Jersey, and most recently in North Haledon.

Joyce was born in La Mars, Iowa and raised in nearby Des Moines.  As a teenager, she loved working in the corn fields pollinating the corn.  In 1947, she graduated from Roosevelt High School in Des Moines and went on to earn a Bachelor’s Degree from Iowa State University in Ames.  While her husband was in school for his Master’s Degree, they lived in Raleigh, NC where Joyce worked for the Durham Life Insurance Co.  She was a talented artist and drew ads for the telephone book yellow pages. When they moved to Wisconsin, she worked in the Home Economics Department of the University of Wisconsin to support John’s doctoral pursuit.  In 1961, she embarked on her most rewarding career as a full-time mother to her children.

Joyce met her husband, John McAnelly, at the Grace Methodist Church in Des Moines.  John was speaking on the microphone when Joyce first heard his voice, and she thought he sounded “very nice”.  Two years later, the two bumped into each other at a dance at Iowa State. They dated for a few years before John proposed while they were sitting on the living room couch.  After John slipped the diamond ring onto Joyce’s finger, she walked to the living room mirror and ‘tested’ the diamond on the glass, just to be certain it was real!  They married at the Grace Methodist Church on December 27, 1953, the same church where they had first met.  They enjoyed a brief honeymoon at the Sir Walter Raleigh Hotel before the two moved to North Carolina so John could begin graduate school.  

Joyce and John’s travels continued outside the US with trips to Paris, London, Russia, Hungry, Denmark, Finland, Germany, England, Scotland, Ireland, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Joyce’s artistic talents were seen in the photo albums filled with pictures of their travels.

Joyce always promoted women’s education and Christian studies. She was a 72-year member of P.E.O (Philanthropic Educational Organization), where she served as a Treasurer, Vice President, and President in three local chapters.  In Wayne, Joyce taught reading to individuals whose first language was not English. She was a Sunday school teacher at Grace United Protestant, Park Forest, Il and Wayne Presbyterian Church (WPC), a Deacon and Elder at WPC, and was always active in women’s Christian organizations.

Joyce is survived by her two children; Anne Henson and Stephen McAnelly.  She was predeceased by her parents, Grace and Everett Graber, her sister Helen Kinseth, and her husband John. Her legacy continues with Grandchildren; Nicholas and Lauren.

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Donations can be made in her memory to Chapter BY - PEO Scholarship fund.  Mail checks to Cathy Mackey, PEO, 5826 Dawley Dr., Fitchburg WI 53711.