Joyce Deanna (Rumbaugh) Robertson
November 1, 1940 – November 8, 2024
Joyce was born to Ralph and Bertha (Lanz) Rumbaugh in Burwell, Nebraska, on November 1, 1940. They lived on a small Loup County ranch on the county line with Rock County.
She attended Ovitt School, Loup District 18, until her father died in the spring of 1950, when she was 9 ½. Her family then moved to Bassett, Nebraska. In Bassett, Joyce and her family attended the Bassett Assembly of God Church, where she was saved and baptized in the Niobrara River and where she was devoted to her church. She attended Bassett Grade School and Rock County High School. At RCHS she met the love of her life, Jed Robertson. After graduation in May 1958, Joyce attended Commercial Extension Business School near Mutual of Omaha. After completing her secretarial course, she got a job at Mutual of Omaha. In September of 1958, she married Jed Robertson and they moved to Valley, Nebraska, where her husband Jed worked at Valley Manufacturing, later named Valmont.
Her first baby, Kimberly Ann, was born in July 1959. They soon bought a small house in Valley, NE and attended the Valley Baptist Church, where they met several couples who became life-long friends. A son, Kirk Allan, was born in August 1962, and the small family was complete. In 1966, they contracted for a new house to be built in Pacific Heights, beyond the western suburbs of Omaha, NE. They moved into their new home in 1967. When they moved to Omaha, Joyce and Jed joined the tiny Westside Baptist Church, which grew rapidly to become a large church in Omaha. Joyce was a Sunday School teacher to small children for many years.
Joyce was famous for her gift of hospitality. She loved to serve people. They hosted people in their home every Sunday night after church, and they soon had a card club playing pitch, made up of neighbors who continued to meet monthly for decades. If you were a visitor in their home, Joyce loved to wait on you. Joyce was the center of her family, hosting Thanksgiving from 1958 until her granddaughter, Meghan, took over in 2010. She was always active in church and with her neighbors and family. Joyce loved to talk, loved Jesus and loved people. If you met Joyce, it wouldn’t be long before she would tell you about Jesus and her family.
Joyce stayed home to raise their children, but after moving to Omaha, she went to work 2 evenings a week waitressing at her brother, David’s, Mr. Steak restaurant in Omaha. After a year she began to keep books for David in the little office in the corner of the restaurant. Joyce continued working for David until about 1983, when she took a job with a mortgage company, then moved to Fireman’s Fund, and finally, she worked at HUD. She continued working with so many people she loved until her retirement. She worked at HUD until she could get a retirement that allowed her to keep her health insurance. Her husband, Jed, had been diagnosed with Chronic Lymphatic Leukemia, CLL, in 1981. This dominated the remainder of their life.
Joyce had a series of three strokes starting Memorial Day weekend of 2016 that left her paralyzed on the left side. She settled into Brookestone Meadows in Elkhorn, NE and lived there until her hospitalization in October. Joyce then moved to Josie Harper Hospice House, where she died in the early hours of November 8, 2024, eight years after her husband, Jed, had died the morning of November 8, 2016.
Joyce loved and was loved by all who knew her.
Joyce leaves behind her daughter, Kim Robertson Piepho, and her son, Kirk Robertson; her grandchildren: Meghan (Tyler) Griffin, Matthew Robertson, Jeremy (Erika) Robertson, and JC (Megan) Piepho; her great-grandchildren: Riley Robertson, Aly, Josie and Ashton Robertson, Belle and Jem Griffin; brothers, John (Connie), David (Connie), and Steven (Judy) Rumbaugh; and many nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Jed Robertson; her son-in-law, John Piepho; her parents, Ralph and Bertha Rumbaugh; and her in-laws, Jack and Lena Robertson; and brother Donald.
VISITATION: Friday, November 15, 2024, from 5pm to 7pm at the West Center Chapel.
FUNERAL SERVICE: Saturday, November 16th at 11am at Brookestone Meadows, 600 Brookestone Meadows Plaza, Elkhorn, NE 68022.
In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to Open Door Mission.
To view a live Broadcast of the Service, please visit www.heafeyheafey.com and click the “LiveCast” button at the top of home page.
10 Comments
My prayers and sympathy go to all of you at this sad time.
Thank you Faye, but there is no sadness, just Joy. Joyce has been released from a life with some pain and lots of loneliness where she sat in her wheelchair or laid in her bed many hours. She had visitors, but they were maybe a few hours and she had so many hours. Yes, on occasion, she had some of her great-granddaughters visit and those hours were very special and made up for many hours alone, but not for enough of the lonely hours.
So sorry to hear about Joyce
So many wonderful memories of a dear cousin!
Love and condolences to all of the family from Lila May
I knew Joyce and Jed at WestsideChuch as part of Care and Share. She would greet people a@ they came. Jed bought yarn at sales for me to make prayer shawls. Joyce gave prayer. shawls to hurting people wherever she lived. She was truly an Ambassador for Christ. Everyone loved her.
My thoughts and prayers go out to Joyce’s family she was a wonderful lady that I enjoyed serving her and Jed for years at LaFondas and continued to stay in touch. Joyce is now reunited with Jed there in Heaven RIP my friend.
My cousin Joyce was a great person, and she will truly be missed.
What a wonderful service. I’m so frustrated I couldn’t be there with all of you in person. Joyce has finally met Jesus and I know her soul spirit is the happiest she has ever been. I have so many memories of times spent with Joyce. For some weird reason, the one that always comes to mind is when she and Jed visited Bob & I while living in Norfolk. Joyce and I went shopping while Bob & Jed were off hunting. We, of course, were also listening to Nebraska playing Colorado. There we were, clasping hands, jumping up & down on Main Street downtown Norfolk cheering that Nebraska finally won a hard fought game.
We will all miss a generous, loving woman in our lives.
Steve, My condolences to you and your family.
Dear John, Dave and Steve–Thoughts and prayers for all of you. I remember some Sunday afternoons when we were visiting Grandma Minnie and Grandpa John Sybrant that we (my sister Linda and cousin Doris) would take off and walk to your house to visit Joyce–we were grade school age and enjoyed visiting with her–she was a special person.
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