Joyce Louise Hoeft

Joyce Louise Hoeft, 67, of Johnson Lake, Nebraska, died Thursday, November 26, 2009, at Bryan LGH Medical Center in Lincoln, Nebraska following a courageous battle with cancer. She was born July 26, 1942, at Stromsburg, Nebraska, to Birgir and Rosie (Bristow) Gulbrandson. Joyce graduated from Stromsburg High School in 1960. Joyce was united in marriage to Donald “Cowboy” Hoeft on July 14, 1970, at Denver, Colorado. The couple moved to Lexington in 1984, and to Johnson Lake in 1996. Joyce cleaned houses for a living and those families became her extended family. She loved living at the lake and especially enjoyed the changing of the seasons in spring and fall. Quilting and sewing were two of her passions and she unselfishly gave many quilts to the newborn babies at Tri-County Hospital as well as quilts to the Parent/Child Center for the Women’s shelter. To say Joyce was a spitfire is an understatement. She told you what was on her mind and did it with a kind spirit and loving expression. Joyce was a member of the Plum Creek Quilt Guild, and bowled on the Tuesday Coffee Cup League. Her family was her life and she showed them how much she loved them by cooking special meals and “special orders” never upset her! She leaves a legacy of her talents for her family with her scrapbooking abilities for them to keep and cherish as family heirlooms. She will be so very missed. Survivors include her husband: Donald “Cowboy” Hoeft of Johnson Lake, Nebraska Two daughters: Brenda Cox and Robert Borchert of Denver, Colorado Dawn Rios of Johnson Lake One son: Ricky Cox of Tennessee Two brothers: Hollis & Mariam Gulbrandson of Denver, Colorado Virgil Gulbrandson of Stromsburg, Nebraska Four sisters: Ella Mae & Roger Johnson of Stromsburg, Nebraska Mary Alice & Raymond Friesen of Waverly, Nebraska Martha Ann & Charlie Hugglar of Osceola, Nebraska Rose Marie Johnson of Belleville, Kansas Six grandchildren: Neil Cox, Ryan, Blake, Logan & Kobe Rios and Ethan Weaver. Joyce was preceded in death by her parents; six brothers and one sister. Funeral Services will be Tuesday, December 1, 2009, at 10:30 a.m. at Lexington Christian Church in Lexington with Pastor Kyron C. BeDunnah officiating. Burial will be in the Evergreen Cemetery at Lexington. Visitation will be held Monday, November 30, 2009, from 6-8 p.m. at the Reynolds-Love Chapel in Lexington. Memorials are suggested to the Family for later designation. Reynolds-Love Funeral Home in Lexington is in charge of arrangements. Online condolences and expressions of Sympathy may be directed to: reynoldslovefuneralhome.com.