After proving herself invincible to various cancers, organ failure, kidnapping, and even her own driving, Joyce M. Hartman, born Dec. 29th, 1931 (age 88), surprised us all by dying suddenly after a short battle with Corona virus on Sunday, October 18th, 2020. She is better known however, for the way she lived her life: with much grace, strength, generosity & kindness.

Those who knew her saw a woman devoted to finding or making outlets to share God’s love. She sought racial inclusiveness in Jim Crow America. She fed the homeless & loved the “unlovable”. Deep & lasting friendships were made within her church families. She gave her time, energy, talent, & love to children & teens. The Lakota culture & people filled her with a deep sense of respect & awe. She also thoroughly loved her family but we didn’t always make it easy for her. She served, encouraged & shared her hard-won life lessons with those she loved. In doing so, she lived a full and adventurous life.

She had a habit of “taking in strays”, a side effect of her ability to see the good in the strangest of strangers. While this occasionally led her into trouble (of note, the above mentioned kidnapping), somehow we all benefited from her generosity in one way or another. It also made her wonderfully approachable & able to understand us when we felt estranged ourselves.

Despite her fears to the contrary, she found the poise & strength to age gracefully, a trait highly underrated by the young. Her ready smile & laugh will not be easily forgotten. Those wanting to know more of the details of her full & amazing life are referred to her memoir: Barefoot Texas Tomboy available on Amazon.

She was preceded in death by her parents Norman Leroy McCain (who taught her to love freely, be constructive & who thought his middle name was pretentious) and Thelma Erin Tuck McCain (who taught her to stand up for herself and was deeply proud of her daughter. She also firmly believed in pretentious names, giving Joyce the first name of Marjorie which Joyce promptly dropped). She is also preceded in death by far too many family & friends including her husband Clarence Henry Hartman; her brother Malcolm Lee McCain; her step-son Eric Paul Hartman; and her daughter Karin Odell Kuhl, who would have done a much better job writing this obituary in the sentimental style Joyce preferred.

She is survived by the rest of us, her many amazing friends & family including: her husband Michael Miller; her son Richard (& Kathryn) Luke; her daughter Kristie (& Adam) Pequette; her step-sons Ken Hartman, Doug (& Jill) Hartman, and John (& Jennifer) Hartman; step-daughters Lyn Shaw and Kathy (& Vince) Eccles; 16 grandchildren plus their spouses and several great grandchildren. If you were fortunate enough to know her, she probably loved you like family as well.