Joyce Kathleen Driscoll Rundle died calmly at home on June 23, surrounded by her family, just 30 days shy of reaching her goal of living to age 90. She is survived by her devoted husband Richard, and her four children who loved her beyond measure: Thomas (Dawn Holm) of Fargo, ND, Kathleen of Bloomington, MN, Carolyn (Jeff) Piepho of Rochester, MN and Anne (Steve) Billings of Webster, WI. Her seven grandchildren were the brightest lights of her life: Colin (Lauren) Piepho, Robert (Xaire) Billings, Michael Billings, Chloe (Luke) Corey, Brian (Kay) Billings, Evan Piepho and Carly Rundle-Borchert.
Joyce grew up in Minneapolis where she graduated from North High School. She married Richard in 1950 at age 20 and worked in the audit department of IDS to help put him through college. After their children finished elementary school Joyce devoted much of her time to volunteer work, serving with United Way Minneapolis’ First Call for Help for several years; then working with Meals on Wheels. Always willing to comfort others, she would read to nursing home residents and was a helpmate to ill friends. After Richard retired, they moved to the lake home they built on Bass Lake in Webster, WI, and made many friends. She joined the Webster Lioness, contributing to numerous bake sales.
To know Joyce was to love her. She had a special way of making you feel as though you were the most important person in her presence. Her natural and authentic love for and interest in people were signature traits and Joyce was known for her kindness, her beauty, her red Irish hair and, in her young years, her singing voice as a member of the Twin Cities Symphonic Chorus.
Joyce and Richard traveled a good bit, her favorite destination — her beloved Ireland where she visited twice. Though just 50% Irish by ancestry, her devotion to the Irish tradition of caring and love of the land made her at least 90% Irish. She looked sensational in green. How much she will be missed would take an Irish poet to tell.
Joyce was an avid reader and outstanding cook. Her ability to taste nuances in food was legendary, even at the end. She once proclaimed she tasted cornstarch in her yogurt and upon reading the ingredients, sure enough, cornstarch was the second listing. Her recipes can be found in family and friends’ kitchens in Minneapolis, Winona, Rochester and beyond. Joyce was also an enthusiastic patron of the Commonweal Theatre, and in later life, became an avid player of Mah Jong.
A memorial service is planned for a later date at the Rochester Unitarian Universalist Church once the COVID-19 curse abates.
We would like to thank Seasons Hospice who provided such tender loving care to Joyce during her final month of life. Memorial offerings may be sent to the First Unitarian Universalist Church – 1727 Walden Lane SW, Rochester MN, 55902 or to Seasons Hospice - 1696 Greenview Drive SW, Rochester, MN, 55902.
The post Joyce Rundle appeared first on Macken Funeral Home.