Joyce Marie Erling, 82, of Eldridge, formerly of Long Grove and DeWitt, passed away peacefully, with her daughter by her side on Monday, July 3, 2023, in Eldridge. A celebration of her life will be Saturday, Aug. 26, at 11 a.m. at the United Church of Christ First Congregational Church in DeWitt, of which she was a member. Visitation will be from 9 a.m. until 10:45 a.m. Saturday Aug. 26, at the church. Her final resting place will be in Mt. Union Cemetery in rural Scott County. Online condolences may be left at rungemortuary.com. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Chris Erling, 420 E. Franklin St., Unit 104, Eldridge, IA 52748.
Joyce was born Sept. 30, 1940, in Princeton, the daughter of Milroy and Dorothy (Stichter) Gast. She grew up in Princeton on a farm and graduated from DeWitt High School in 1958. She married Larry Erling on April 24, 1960. Early in her life, she was employed at Jane Lamb Hospital in Clinton as an X-ray tech. She and Larry owned and operated the Candlelight Restaurant in DeWitt for many years. She also was co-owner of the Frame and Gift Emporium in DeWitt. She then had her home business, Glynns Creek Framing.
She served on several committees over the years at her church in DeWitt and helped out on the mission trips. Joyce was a retired member of the Fine Arts Board in Dewitt and a retired befriender at Genesis West, where she loved visiting patients, often going above and beyond to help them. She enjoyed cooking with her team for the Noon Lions Club. She was passionate about nature, photography, bowling, gardening, kayaking, golf, traveling to Thailand and Singapore and going on cruises with her daughter. She was an avid Iowa Hawkeye, Chicago Bears and Cubs fan as well as a tennis fan. Joyce loved spending time with her Birthday Club girls and the outings they took for many years. She will be deeply missed by her furry friend, Daisy.
Those left to honor her memory include her daughter, Christine Erling, Eldridge; son, Todd (Terri) Erling, Cape Coral, Fla.; grandson, Jesse Erling, Edina, Minn.; JoBeth Erling (fiancé, Nathan Chavez), Tucson, Ariz.; sister, Pat Sterk, Bettendorf; sister-in-law, Shirley Mackin, Mesa, Ariz.; and several nieces and nephews.
In addition to her parents and husband, Joyce was preceded in death by sister, Beverly and her husband, Lowell “Butch” Bowman; brothers-in-law, George Sterk, Hal and wife, Erma Hoy; her in-laws, Ray and Pearl Erling; and nephews Kevin and Kreg Bowman.
The family would like to thank the doctors and staff at Genesis Home Hospice and Pulmonary Associates, the University of Iowa Cancer Center and the East Kimberly HyVee Pharmacy for the wonderful care shown to Joyce!
Custom obituary