Joyce Evon Ludwig

After Duane’s Army tour ended, Joyce and Duane returned to rural Alcester, S.D., where they lived and farmed for three years. It was during this time that Lori and Lynda were born. They then moved to Vermillion, S.D., where Duane attended Business School at the University of South Dakota and it was during this time that Gregory was born.

After Duane graduated, they moved to Omaha, Neb., where Duane worked for Wausau Insurance Company. In 1970, three weeks after Aimee was born, they moved to Concord, Calif. after Duane received a promotion. Joyce was a stay-at-home mother for the next 20 years while working part-time at the Contra Costa Times Newspaper as a Route Supervisor and then in the Circulation Department.

Joyce is a lifelong member of the Lutheran Church. Baptized and married at Roseni Lutheran Church in South Dakota, she had attended Lutheran churches wherever she lived.

At Concordia Lutheran Church in Concord, she was an active member of the choir and served as wedding consultant for many years. Since joining Saint Matthew Lutheran Church in 1994, she had participated in bible study groups with close friends.

Joyce was preceded in death by her parents, older sister Lois and her husband Burdette Sundstrom, son-in-law Terry Wilkinson, husband of Lori, and son-in-law Daniel Zamora, husband of Aimee as well as several dogs.

She is survived by her husband Duane and four children: Lori, Lynda, Greg, and Aimee. Also surviving are grandson Shaun and granddaughter Danielle, children of Lori, grandsons Ethan, Ryan, and Aedan, children of Greg and his wife Christina, and grandson Landon, Aimee’s son. She has four great grandchildren: Benjamin and Abigail, Shaun and his wife Hillary’s children and Brooklyn and Haylee, Danielle, and her husband Curt’s children.

Joyce enjoyed being a mom, grandmother, and great grandmother, visiting with friends and vacationing in various locations, most favorably Maui, Hawaii. She had been in declining health since July and died at home surrounded by family on Dec. 26 just three days short of celebrating 66 years of marriage with Duane.

To our beloved wife, mom, grandmother, and great grandmother......there are no goodbyes for us; wherever you are, you are always in our hearts.

Private services will be held at Saint Matthew Lutheran Church Memorial Garden and Columbarium in Walnut Creek. For those who wish to make a memorial offering please direct it to Hospice of the East Bay: 3470 Buskirk Avenue, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523; or Saint Matthew Lutheran Church: 399 Wiget Lane, Walnut Creek, CA 94598.