Obituary of Joyce Marie Parham

The family of Grady Edward and Joyce Marie Parham warmly invite all their friends and fellow parishioners to a Celebration of Life: Saturday, July 13th, 10:30am at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Spirit Lake. A mass will be followed by a graveside service and luncheon with music at St. Mary's. Please join us to say farewell and enjoy good food, music, and fun stories in appreciation for their love, contributions, friendships, and lives well lived. Joyce Parham, 86, of Spirit Lake, IA, passed away on Tuesday, 23rd April, 2019 at the Lakes Regional Hospital in Spirit Lake. She was born Joyce Marie Wiseman on June 8th 1932 in Louisville, KY to Francis Irene Gray of Nabb, IN and Samuel Lawrence Wiseman of Rineyville, KY. Both parents came from a long line of Irish and German immigrants and she and her brother Bud (Paul) grew up in a large extended family of uncles, aunts and cousins as her father was one of 11 children and her mother one of six. Born during the depression, she remembered how families relied on and cared for each other as they preserved their traditions and familial ties. Joyce always remembered her childhood as surrounded by unending love and support. Joyce attended Our Mother of Sorrows Elementary in Louisville, and later graduated from Presentation Academy High School in 1950. She would tell the story of how fortunate she was to start work at Louisville Bell Telephone Company as a long-distance operator when she was a Junior in high school for .40 cents an hour. In the summers, she had the good fortune to work as a children's camp counselor and art teacher at Camp Merriwood, NC. After graduating high school Joyce was awarded an art scholarship to the University of Louisville where she earned an Associate degree in Fine Art and began her lifelong commitment to creating beautiful fine and functional arts. During college Joyce worked as a Recreational and Art Therapist at Norton's Hospital in the psychiatric ward. She found this work fascinating and rewarding and talked of this job often in her life. Joyce also worked at Rhodes Department store, first as a telephone operator and then as bookkeeper and in payroll. Joyce married Grady Parham in 1956. She and their growing family followed Grady and his career in the cordage and sporting goods industry from Louisville, KY, to Athens, GA, back to Louisville, and eventually to Spirit Lake, IA when Grady began work for Berkley in 1979. Once in Spirit Lake, Joyce kept busy at Carpenters Interiors where she was able to express herself creatively. In Spirit Lake, Joyce loved the 'lake life' and all the new friends she met through her work, her golf leagues, playing in and helping to run bridge tournaments, where she earned Silver Life Member status in the American Contract Bridge League with 1,251.70 Life Master points. In addition, Joyce was a devoted member of St Mary's Catholic Church and volunteered her time to many charitable pursuits including Catholic Daughters and Meals on Wheels. Wherever she went, Joyce found ways to express herself creatively. Her friends and family remember a home filled with her artwork, restored antique furniture, handmade curtains, her handmade jewelry, needlepoint, felting, beautifully set tables, Kentucky Derby-themed parties and handmade quilts - many of which were blue ribbon winners at the county fair. Joyce's children and their families are blessed by memories of shared crafts, home-made Christmas cards, celebrations and parties, generous gifts, long summers spent pool-side in Louisville or at Camp Foster in Spirit Lake. They fondly recall her home cooking; Joyce's fried chicken, chicken soup or signature cinnamon toast. While life would take her many places, she always considered herself a 'southern lady' and proud Kentuckian and these cherished memories and lifetime friends would remain with her forever. She was kind and thoughtful and it was not uncommon for her to ask, "Is there something I can do for you?" or to hear someone tell her, "Joyce, you're one of my favorite people." Joyce is preceded in death by her husband, Grady, on February 23rd 2019 and survived by her four children, John Thayne Parham, Thomas Grady Parham, David Quinn Parham, Mary Tenley (Parham) Clemente, and their spouses, Maruchi (Maria) Santana, Rebecca Rae (Silvey) Parham, Christopher John Clemente, and seven grandchildren, Julian Grady Parham, Sofia Marie Parham, Ana Lucia Parham Santana, Andrea Marie Parham, Liliana Rae Parham, Mearieta Grace Clemente and Molly Irene Clemente.