Joyce Ann Siefker

Joyce Ann Siefker, 86, passed away at 5:30 p.m. on October 10, 2020, in her apartment at Westminster Village.

Joyce was born in Seymour, Indiana, on September 19, 1934, to J. Hugh and Leota Taylor. At the end of her senior year at DePauw University in 1956, she married another Seymour native, Joseph R. Siefker, and followed him to Grand Forks, ND, where he was in graduate school. They moved to Terre Haute in 1962 when he joined the faculty at Indiana State College, now ISU.

She is survived by daughters Ann Lambert (Richard) of Wrentham, MA and Gail Hayes (Tim) of Terre Haute. She is also survived by grandchildren Brittney Fontana (Nicholas), Abigail Perry (Chad), Jacob Hayes (Taylor), Samantha Hayes and Will Hayes, as well as great granddaughter Ellianna Hope Perry. In addition, she is survived by brother-in-law Don Siefker, brother- and sister-in-law Bob and Christina Siefker, as well as six nieces and nephews.    She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; her brother and sister-in-law, Tom and Sonnie Taylor; and sister-in-law, Barbara Siefker.

Joyce was a stay-at-home mom and community-volunteer extraordinaire until her younger daughter was in junior high. At that time she earned her master’s degree in library science from Indiana State University and then had a 25-year career as a media specialist, retiring from Meadows Elementary. She was passionate about books, bringing them to life with puppets and costumes, and passed that love along to her students, as well as her daughters and grandchildren.

She was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church, Chapter DR of the P.E.O. Sisterhood, Tri Kappa, ISU Wives Club and the Trio Bridge Club, which was developed in the early 1960s with many of her dearest friends connected to ISU. In all of those organizations, she held leadership roles, serving as president of most and chairman of many fund-raising efforts, including United Way of the Wabash Valley and March of Dimes.

Joyce loved to travel and planned wonderful cross-country driving trips as her daughters were growing up. She and Joe traveled to many countries, as well. She took all five grandchildren on cruises to celebrate their high school graduations. She loved shopping, knitting, collecting decorative eggs and reading figurines, playing bridge, ordering from catalogs, going to shows, dancing and eating out. She also was an expert at planning activities with her grandchildren, from crafting to going to museums.

The family thanks the staffs of Westminster Village, Hands That Serve and Hospice of the Wabash Valley for their loving care of Joyce.

A public visitation is scheduled for Friday, October 16, 2020 from 5:00-7:00 PM in Callahan & Hughes Funeral Home, 605 South 25 ^th Street.  There will be a private funeral service on Saturday, October 17 ^th at Trinity Lutheran Church.

Although the funeral service is private, it will be live-streamed at 10:00 AM, Saturday via this YouTube link

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu1siDnnzqBNsnQM1xAH-Sw , should friends wish to view.

Private entombment will be in Roselawn Memorial Park.  In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Vigo County Education Foundation in her memory.  Funeral information and tributes may be found at www.callahanandhughes.com .