Joyce Near

Joyce Near passed away on January 15, 2021 surrounded by her loving family.  Joyce was born on November 25, 1931 to Harold and Faye Emick in Lawrence , Kansas.  Her sister Evelyn Dockery preceded her in death.  Joyce graduated from Lawrence Memorial High School in 1949.  She married Bob Near in 1952 in Lawrence just days before he was deployed to Korea in the Army.  Bob preceded her in death in 2016.  This January 28th would have been their 69th wedding anniversary.  Bob’s career in the oil and gas industry took them from Montana to North Dakota, Wyoming, and ultimately to Denver.  She attended the University of Kansas from 1950-1952, where she majored in Journalism.  She was a lifelong Kappa Alpha Theta member.  Joyce was a full-time mom for many years.  She wrote a column for the Broomfield Enterprise Newspaper for a time.  She also was a real estate agent for a few years.  She loved to entertain; she was considered a gourmet cook.  She volunteered in hospitals and a number of other philanthropic organizations, and was extremely active in her church.  She was a member of an auxiliary group (RMAGA).  These were women whose spouses had careers in the oil and gas industry that started in 1953, and Joyce was a member for over 60 years until her death.

She was a huge fan of all things her eight grandchildren did including sports and other activities.  She even dyed her hair blue to cheer her youngest grandson for a State Final 4 basketball game.  She earned her pilot’s license at the age of 15.  Her instructor was her father who also trained pilots for the Army.  Huge KU fan, Rock Chalk Jayhawk forever!

She is survived by children Nancy (Richard) Near-Perse, David (Karen) Near, and Eric Near; grandchildren Justin (Lauren), Aimee, Adam, Matthew, Daniel, Lauryn (Nick), Devon, Suzanne (Geoff); great grandchildren Zack, Alaina, Harper, Henry, Savannah, Kenzie, and Vincent, Jr.

Visitation, Thurs. 10am with Funeral Service beginning at 11am both at Peace Lutheran Church, 5675 Field St., Arvada. Funeral Service will be live-streamed – please go to the homepage at peacelutheran.net and click on the TV-shaped icon with the word “Live” in the upper right corner. Memorials can be made in Joyce's honor to The Ray Of Hope Foundation
1385 South Colorado Boulevard #108, Denver CO 80222 Tel: 1-303-586-5816 Web: http://rayofhopecolorado.org