Joyce Joan Dean

MADISON - Joyce Joan (Johnston) Dean finished her life’s journey on Aug. 8, 2024, in Madison, Wis., at age 92.

Joyce was born in Hampden, Maine, on May 17, 1932, as the middle of three daughters to George Sumner and Thelma (Bradley) Johnston, and grew up in Dover-Foxcroft, Maine. She was a 1950 graduate of Foxcroft Academy, being a member of the National Honor Society. She married her high-school sweetheart, Myron Powers “Mike” Dean, at their family Methodist Church on Christmas Eve, 1950. Before leaving her hometown, Joyce worked at the Piscataquis Savings Bank and was very involved in community musical and drama performances. She was also a member of the Order of the Eastern Star.

Five months following their wedding, Mike graduated from the University of Maine; he then served as an officer in the U.S. Army, stationed in Arkansas. When his service ended, the couple settled in Madison, where Mike became a faculty member of the Department of Food Science for the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Joyce was a teller at McFarland State Bank. Joyce thrived and found purpose in being a homemaker and mother to their two dearly beloved children, Paul and Susan, as they grew up.

After their retirement in 1984, Joyce and Mike spent their winters in Punta Gorda, Fla., returning to Wisconsin as permanent residents in 1998. The couple enjoyed 48 years of a blessed marriage at the time of Mike’s death on March 25, 1999.

One month each summer, Joyce and Mike brought their children and families back to their home state of Maine and the town of their hearts, Dover-Foxcroft, for reunions with family and friends. Following Mike’s death, Joyce and her sister, Priscilla “Pidda” Clark, continued the tradition of visiting their sister, Connie Chase, in Maine for many more years.

Joyce was extremely proud of her strong New England heritage, being 12 generations removed from two passengers (Captain James Chilton and Francis Cook) of the Mayflower in November of 1620. She has familial ties to original English settlers of Sebec, Maine, and servicemen in the Union Army.

Throughout her lifetime, Joyce remained a devoted daughter and sister, a faithful and loving wife, an adoring mother and grandmother to five grandchildren, and a faithful friend. Her ultimate interests were always her family, her friends, her church, and her music. She shared her musical talents with others locally at Bashford United Methodist Church as well as around the Madison area through heartfelt vocal offerings for services, weddings, and funerals for more than 50 years.

Joyce felt forever blessed by her Christian upbringing in the close-knit town of Dover-Foxcroft among dear family and friends, by her 48 years of marriage to Mike, and by their wonderful, caring children and grandchildren who completed their lives in unending ways.

Her later years were spent living at Oakwood Village Prairie Ridge in Madison, where she moved in 2017. Joyce spent her time socializing with her neighbors and friends, attending services at the chapel, performing in choirs, assisting with spiritual life communications, and enjoying re-watching her favorite classic movies.

Joyce is survived and dearly missed by her sister, Pidda; her son, Paul Dean (Jane) of Campbellsport and grandchildren, Katie, Alex and Bridget Dean; and her daughter, Susan Vollmer (David) of Sun Prairie, and grandchildren, Brian (Kylee Morrison) and Kevin Vollmer.

She was preceded in death by her father in 1974; her mother in 1991; her husband in 1999; and her sister, Connie Chase, in 2015.

A memorial service will be held at TREE OF LIFE CHAPEL AT OAKWOOD VILLAGE PRAIRIE RIDGE, 5565 Tancho Drive, Madison, at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. A visitation will be held in the chapel from 1 p.m. until the time of the service on Thursday. Burial will take place at the Dover Cemetery in Maine beside her late husband at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Joyce's name to Oakwood Foundation Inc., would be greatly appreciated. Visit oakwoodfoundationinc.org to donate online or mail check payable to “Oakwood Foundation, Inc.” to Oakwood Foundation, Inc., 6209 Mineral Point Road, Madison, WI, 53705.

The family wishes to express their gratitude to all the staff and volunteers who provided care for Joyce over the years at Oakwood Village across a multitude of services and ministries. They would also like to thank the many relatives and friends of Joyce for their love and support.

It broke our hearts to lose you

But you did not go alone;

For part of us went with you

The day God took you home.

Your memory is our keepsake

With which we’ll never part.

God has you in His keeping

We hold you in our hearts.

Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com.

Gunderson East

Funeral & Cremation Care

5203 Monona Drive

(608) 221-5420