Joyce Long, 87, of Mt. Pleasant, went home to be with her Lord and Savior at 3AM on Thursday, December 18th, 2025 at Park Place Elder Living in Mt. Pleasant, IA.
Joyce was born June 1, 1938 in Linby, Iowa to Charles “Chuck” Clayton and Hazel Lela (Johnston) Nicholson, the eldest of nine children.
Joyce attended Winfield High School. On October 2, 1955, Joyce was united in marriage to Donald Eugene Long in Lockridge, Iowa. They were blessed with two daughters, Teri Lu in 1957 and Melanie Dawn in 1962.
Joyce was employed for 12 years at Martha Brown and Henry County Credit Union, both in Mt. Pleasant. For 20 years, she served the Lord as Secretary of Calvary Baptist Church, retiring in 2004.
Joyce made the most important decision of her life at the age of 18 when she received Jesus Christ as her personal Savior. Her life verse was Ephesians 2:8-9 – “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not of your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast”.
She was an accomplished seamstress and enjoyed sewing clothes for her grandchildren. She was an avid reader, oved shopping, traveling, trips to Branson, collecting cookbooks and received great joy spending time with family and friends.
She had a great love for music and played the trumpet and hand bells, and sang in the church choir for many years. She had a special fondness of hearts and was a collector of P. Buckley Moss prints.
Her faith was very strong. She was a faithful member of Calvary Baptist Church in Mt. Pleasant where she served as Sunday School Teacher, VBS worker, missionary committee and other ministries through the years.
She was a volunteer at Midwest Old Threshers Information Booth for many years and attended Silver Sneakers at the Mt. Pleasant REC Center. She enjoyed attending Sunday evening after-church fellowship groups and the Winfield Class of 1956 trips and get togethers.
Those thankful for sharing in Joyce’s life include her 2 daughters – Teri Long of Muscatine and Melanie (Jim) Housel of Mt. Pleasant; 4 grandchildren – Mitch (Theresa Meeker, Molly (Cory Bachman, Kelly (Matt) Lord and Jeff (Audrey) Housel; 10 great grandchildren – Audrey, Myra, Jordan, Owen, Ivy, Lily, Philip, Brinley, Malia and Teegan; 6 siblings – James (Wanda) Nicholson of Blowing Rock, NC, Janet (Richard) Eggenberger of West Burlington, Judy (David) Rixe of Bennett, Jill Hoover of Burlington, Joan (David) Exline of West Branch and Jewel Schultz of Mt. Pleasant.
Her parents, husband Don (who died Sept. 5, 2019 in Mt. Pleasant), 2 brothers – William Robert “Bob” Nicholson and Charles Edwin “Ed” Nicholson, and 2 grandsons – David Allan Glasgow and Brian Eugene Glasgow precede Joyce in death.
Friends may call from 2-7 PM on Sunday, Dec. 21 at the Kimzey Funeral Home, 213 North Main Street, Mount Pleasant. The family will be present to receive friends from 3-5 PM Sunday at the funeral home and again on Monday from 10-11 AM at the church.
The funeral service for Joyce will be 11:00 AM on Monday, December 22nd at the Calvary Baptist Church, 801 East Mapleleaf Drive, Mt. Pleasant. The Rev. Dr. David Strope, Pastor, will officiate. Burial will be in the Trinity Cemetery, rural Mt. Union.
Those considering an expression of sympathy may direct memorials to Calvary Baptist Church. Online condolences may be directed to www.kimzeyfh.com