Joyce was born to Lane Michael Myers and Lila Opal (Pettigrew) Myers in Wichita, KS on October 2, 1930. She was their firstborn and times were tight. Her first bed was actually a dresser drawer, and she would joke that it was 'usually left open'. She was joined by her only sister, Patricia two years later.

Joyce loved to tell the story about rolling with her sister, Pat, down a hill in order to extinguish a flaming paper Halloween costume and how the newspaper came out and wrote an article about the incident, calling her a hero. She often expressed that her role as big sister always kept her busy, and on her toes.

At some point during her school years the family moved from Wichita to Protection, KS, where her paternal grandfather owned the town's grocery store. Her high school years in Protection were busy and filled with friends and school and church activities. After graduating from high school she attended a Bible College in Minneapolis, MN.

In 1952, Joyce's father, Lane, announced that the family needed a vacation, so they all packed up and went to Long Beach, CA, for an extended stay. While they were staying in Long Beach they attended Long Beach First Christian Church where Joyce met a dynamic young youth pastor named Wesley Veatch. He was also the principal of Alvarado Christian School and shortly after they started dating, he hired Joyce to teach 2nd grade, which started a lifetime of the two of them working together, in one capacity, or another.

They married on June 26, 1953 and moved to San Jose, CA, where their daughter, Cathy, was born in 1956. While in San Jose, Joyce continued teaching. In 1961 they moved to Louisville, KY, where Wes continued his education, and they were both hired by the state to run a halfway home for women who were transitioning from care facilities, back into mainstream society. Their little family of three shared a large colonial style home with up to 8 women at a time, who were in varying degrees of mental wellness. Once again, she found herself being interviewed by the newspaper to share this unique living situation.

The early 1960's found Joyce, Wes and Cathy back in her hometown of Protection, KS. Her father, Lane Myers, had obtained the contract to manufacture the concertina barbed wire that the government was using in the war in Vietnam, and he wanted to include his family in his success. Wes used that time to help in the business office, and pastor a small, rural Mennonite church, which began Joyce's lifelong second career as a pastor's wife. While in Kansas, Joyce and Wes adopted their second child, a son, named Michael.

From Kansas they moved to Indianapolis, IN, back to Louisville, KY, to Bellevue, WA, and eventually to Anchorage, AK. All of these locations involved pastoring churches, continuing their own educations and for Joyce, teaching and counseling in junior high and high schools until they retired on Whidbey Island, WA. In 2012 Joyce and Wes moved to Southern California, where she lived with her daughter, Cathy, after Wes passed in September of that year.

She loved teaching and her responsibilities as a pastor's wife equally, and never shied away from an opportunity to speak to various groups whenever asked.

Joyce loved the Lord, loved her family, loved people and made friends, literally everywhere she went. She enjoyed entertaining and hosting people in their home, but also looked forward to traveling and exploring new places. She always had a story to tell and would tell anyone that her priorities were the '3 Fs' … Faith, Family and Friends. She continued to drive and stayed active until she turned 90. At that point, she, along with the entire world, decided to stay home in order to avoid Covid, but she did stay busy and in contact with many friends for quite a while.

In the last few months, she was noticeably 'slowing down', but always stayed interested in other people and whatever was going on around her.

Joyce walked into the arms of her Savior and so many loved ones in the early morning on January 16, 2024. She is survived by her 2 children, Cathy (Veatch) Anderson, and Michael Allen Veatch; 3 grandchildren, Tyler Aaron Anderson, Stephanie Elaine Anderson and Sean Christopher Anderson; 3 great-granddaughters, Julia Anderson, Kate Anderson and Nova Bryant; and also, her nephew, Chad Lane Sanders.

She is loved and missed, but we have the assurance of knowing that she is eternally loving our Lord and enjoying everyone around her.

Services will be held on Saturday, June 22, 2024 at 11:30 a.m. at the Christian Church in Protection, KS, with a procession to the Protection Cemetery immediately following.