Joyce Butcher (Ross)

Joyce Butcher

September 27, 1929 – June 30, 2023

Joyce Butcher went to be with the Lord on June 30, 2023, with family and loving caregivers beside her.

Joyce was born on September 27, 1929, in Barnsdall, Oklahoma. She was the youngest of three children born to Bob and Florence Ross.

After high school graduation, she married her high school sweetheart, Bill Butcher, on July 3, 1947. They remained in Oklahoma where Bill became an ordained minister, pastoring churches in Oklahoma and Texas with the Church of the Nazarene. They had two children, Treva and Dennis. They discovered early on that they loved to sing together and traveled to many locations performing concerts and evangelistic services. She would accompany them on either the piano or organ. In 1963, they moved to Denver, Colorado where Joyce obtained her bachelor’s degree from the University of Denver and became an elementary school teacher. She taught school for 25 years and enjoyed it immensely. After retirement, they moved to Montrose in 1994. She would still anticipate the start of the school year in September and wanted to go back to the classroom.

She loved painting landscapes and was a member of the Montrose Art Guild along with giving private lessons. She also enjoyed traveling and the many trips they took in their RV.

She is survived by her husband, Bill Butcher, and her daughter, Treva Messer. She was preceded in death by her parents, brothers, Marvin and Howard, and her son, Dennis. She is the proud grandmother of four grandchildren and six great grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held at Crippin Funeral Home on Monday, July 10, 2023, at 3:00 PM. , interment will follow at Grand View Cemetery.