Joyce M. Jensen, age 66, passed away peacefully at home in Bountiful, Utah August 1, 2002, after a long illness.
Joyce was born Feb 16, 1936 in Nephi, UT to Clyde William Mills and Helen Terry Mills. She married Vernon Y. Jensen Dec 12, 1957 in the Salt Lake LDS Temple.
She is survived by her husband; five children, Keith Edward (Carol), Pocatello, ID, Ellen Denise (Douglas) Hindman, Bountiful, UT, Stephen Dudley (Sharon), Monroe, WA, Peter Anthony (Amy), Salt Lake City, UT, Jonathan Scott, Pocatello, ID; five brothers, Melvin, Lynn (Carla), Alan (Elaine), Galen (Margaret), Paul (Virginia); one sister, Elaine (David) Angerhofer; and Aunt Elma (Lloyd) Mack. She is preceded in death by her son, Vernon Kay Jensen. She has nine grandchildren.
Joyce was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, serving in ward and stake positions in the YWMIA and as a Spiritual Living Leader in the Relief Society, teaching for many years. She directed numerous music programs and choirs in the Bountiful South Stake and Bountiful 36th Ward, and during eight years in Provo, UT, in the Oakhills Stake and the Oakhills 1st Ward. By the time she was baptized a member of the Church at age eight, she had already obtained a strong testimony of the Savior Jesus Christ and has been a pillar of spiritual strength to her family and friends throughout her life.
Her greatest love has been her family. She was a devoted mother, spending one-on-one time with each of her six children, instilling in them her love of music and establishing fun holiday traditions in the family such as decorating Christmas cookies, Easter egg hunts and sewing phenomenal Halloween costumes. She also enjoyed many vacations with her family at BYU Alumni's Aspen Grove Family Camp. She worked diligently to preserve her family's history through genealogy and by establishing a family museum.
Joyce was very creative and pursued many interests throughout her life. She attended Davis and Bountiful High Schools and completed three years of study in music composition at BYU in 1957, earning several scholarships along the way. She subsequently graduated from BYU with a Bachelor's of Science degree in Psychology in 1980. She was admitted to BYU Graduate School and received her Certificate in Gerontology, 1995.
She also had a great desire to compose music. She was a member of the National Mu Phi Epsilon Music Sorority and the Utah Composers Guild. She produced numerous music compositions and won many awards over the years, but her most treasured accomplishment was composing the music and words for the song Fathers included in the 1989 LDS Children's Songbook. Her song Cycles and Seasons was published on the CD titled Ensign Contest Winners Songs of Joy Collection in 1997. She also excelled in art and received Honorable Mention in 1987 from the LDS Museum of Church History and Art for her acrylic-on-canvas painting "The Straight and Narrow Way."
Joyce enjoyed participating with her family of inventors, home decorating, and dancing with the Bountiful Golden Years Center Tap Dance Group. She obtained her own business license under the name "Artistico" through which she designed her dried floral arrangements, miniature vignettes, restored and hand-colored old photographs and, in 1984, published and sold the first complete combined map of Orem and Provo called "The Street Sheet." She worked in Utah State programs for troubled teens and has been an influence for good in the lives of many youth.
Services will be Tues. Aug 6, 2002, 11 a.m., Bountiful 36th Ward Chapel, 102 E. 1400 S, Bountiful, UT. Friends may visit with the family Mon. Aug 5, 2002, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Russon Brothers Mortuary, 295 N. Main St, Bountiful, UT, and 10-10:45 a.m. prior to the services at the church. Viewing will be closed casket. Interment, Lakeview Memorial Cemetery, 1640 E. Lake-view Dr, Bountiful, UT.
The family wishes to thank all those who have given so much help and support during the many years of Joyce's illness from the debilitating effects of CFIDS (Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome or CFS). In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Utah CFIDS Association, P.O. 511257, SLC, UT, 84151-1257. On-line guest book and direction map available www.russonmortuary.com