Joyce Marilyn Pap, 88, formerly of Andover and Beaver Creek, died Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019, at St. Joseph’s Hospital in St. Paul.
A funeral service will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 16, at the American Reformed Church in Luverne. Burial will follow at Maplewood Cemetery in Luverne. Visitation will be from 4-8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 15, at the Hartquist Funeral Home in Luverne.
Joyce Marilyn (Hart/Lantis) Pap was born on Sept. 23, 1931, in Sioux City, Iowa. Her family moved to Sheldon, Iowa, when she was 11 years old. She graduated from Sheldon High School in 1949.
On Dec. 1, 1950, Joyce married Delmar Pap at his mother’s home in Sheldon. Joyce moved with Del to Miami, Florida, and San Diego, California, during his service in the U.S. Marine Corps. They then returned to the family farm near Sheldon. In 1956 the family moved to their own farm seven miles north of Beaver Creek. They moved to Phoenix, Arizona, for two years from 1964 to 1966 and returned to their farm near Beaver Creek. Joyce felt strongly that their children “should be raised on the farm.” Joyce and Del bought a cabin in Park Rapids, where they enjoyed spending many of their summers. They cherished their family and enjoyed the good times at their cabin.
In 1996, after 40 years of living in southern Minnesota, the couple moved to Andover to be closer to their children and grandchildren. Del died on Jan. 31, 2015. In 2016 Joyce moved to the Waverly Gardens Assisted Living facility in North Oaks.
Joyce was a member of the Enterprise Extension Club and volunteered at the Mary Jane Brown Home helping to make quilts and at Beaver Creek Elementary School as a teacher’s aide. The couple enjoyed getting together with neighbors and friends to share stories and play cards. Joyce and Del spent many winters in Phoenix, Arizona, and Eureka Springs, Arizona. For their 50th wedding anniversary they took the whole family on a Caribbean cruise. Joyce enjoyed finding antiques and had a strong connection to the past, searching through genealogical records to find family trees. She loved to talk about their heritage.
Joyce is survived by her children Brian PaStarr of Minneapolis, Michael (Laurel) Pap of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Bruce (Mary) Pap of Lino Lakes, Barbara (Steven) Nyhammer of Andover, and Kelly (Valerie) Pap of Lino Lakes; 13 grandchildren, Angela (Troy) Jude, Jesse (Blanca) Pap, Charlie Pap, Tony Pap, Phillip Pap, Callie (Roscoe) Sopiwnik, Trina PaStarr, Jessica (Chris) Massey, Jordan (Kayla) Pap, Alexandra (Andrew) Ross, Cullen Lyons, Evangelina Nyhammer and Elijah Nyhammer; six step-grandchildren, Jessica (Dan) Doyle, Erin Carlson, Elsa Carlson, Emily (Eric) Eckman, Mathew (Liz) Nyhammer and Trent (Kelly) Nyhammer; seven great-grandchildren; and many other relatives and friends.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Delmar; one grandson, Tanner Pap; and her parents, Beryl Hart Bloedel and Merle Lantis.
Arrangements are provided by Hartquist Funeral Home of Luverne, www.hartquistfuneral.com.
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