Joyce Mary Mitchell

Joyce Mary Mitchell, age 86, of Savanna, Illinois, passed away peacefully on Friday, June 1, 2018 at Big Meadows Nursing Home in Savanna surrounded by her family. A funeral service will be held 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, June 5, 2018 at the Community United Church of Christ, Savanna. Visitation will be held 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, one hour prior to the service at the Church. Burial will take place in Savanna Township Cemetery. Family and friends are invited to share in Joyce’s life at www.lawjonesfuneralhome.com .

Joyce was born October 23, 1931, in Freeport, Illinois, the daughter of Julian and Mary (Weber) Dickinson. The family moved to Sabula, Iowa and Joyce graduated from Sabula High School with the Class of 1949 as the Valedictorian of her class.

On June 4, 1949, Joyce married Robert Mitchell. During the first years of marriage, they lived in Sabula where they had three children. In 1967 the family moved to Savanna. During retirement years, Joyce and Bob loved to travel south for the winter. They celebrated 55 years of marriage until Robert’s death in 2004.

Joyce worked as a line worker at the Sabula Speaker Factory and Eaton Corporation in Savanna. She was an active member of the Community United Church of Christ in Savanna. She enjoyed traveling, boating, sewing, and flower gardening. She loved spending time with her family, especially her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Joyce will be dearly missed by her son, Rodney (Diane) Mitchell of Camanche, Iowa; her daughter Sena (Tim) Schoenig of Savanna, Illinois; 8 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren; three great-great-grandchildren; two brothers, Jack Dickinson of Sabula, Iowa and Gene (Annette “Bunny”) Dickinson of Sabula, Illinois; two sisters, Dorothy Mitchell of Savanna, Illinois and Judy (Dale) Anderson of Clinton, Iowa. Joyce is preceded in death by her husband, Robert; one son, Robert; and her parents, Julian and Mary.