Joyce Ellen (Desmond) McChuen was born on March 15, 1938, in St. Paul, Minnesota to Robert Emmett Desmond, Jr. and Ellen Adamay (Dolfay) Desmond.  She was the eldest of five children.  Born into a family dealing with the strife of an economic depression, Joyce grew up learning to make do with very little – a skill that served her well throughout her life.  She attended Mechanic Arts High School in St. Paul, where she graduated in 1956.  While in high school, Joyce also met her future husband, James "Jim" McChuen.  Joyce and Jim were married on July 2, 1960.

Joyce was the proud mother of five children.  In birth order, they are Michael Joel, Brian Dean, Joel Allan, Paula Marie, and Sherry Dawn.  In addition, she had many "adopted" sons who were more than welcome in the McChuen household under its open-door policy (anybody who dared ring the doorbell would suffer Joyce's wrath).  Among them were Joey Conder, Johnny Loggins, Ronnie Stodden, Jason Durre, and the late Brian Mandel.  Some would even say that Joyce treated them better than her own sons.  And she was always accepting of every one of them, no matter their circumstances.  In fact, her love for life, family, and friends was the glue that held them altogether.

Jim and Joyce relocated several times during their 40 years of marriage to accommodate the changing demands of Jim's career in the printing industry, finally settling permanently in Effingham in 1972.  Joyce worked a number of different service industry jobs in Effingham to help support her family.  When she was not working or caring for her family, Joyce enjoyed gardening, bird watching, bowling, NCIS (she had a crush on Gibbs), music, puzzles, baking, and being the object of  "spoiler alerts" by her family while watching movies.  For her family, she also served as a seamstress, taxi driver, social worker, and umpire for all fights.  And, along with Jim, she also was an active member of the Effingham Elks Lodge #1016.

Joyce died peacefully with family members at her bedside on the morning of December 14, 2020.  She had recently successfully completed a bout with lung cancer, giving her grateful family and friends another six months to form everlasting memories of the influential role she played in all their lives.  Joyce was of simple means and humble roots who showed others just how tough and resilient a woman barely over five feet (at her grandest) can be no matter how many obstacles life thrust down in front of her.  She was a fighter to the end and had no qualms about letting everybody know her opinions – with a few expletives thrown in just for good measure.  As the matriarch, Joyce was the anchor that kept her children from drifting apart as they made their own way through life.  May she rest in peace as she dances with Jim once again among the heavens above.  Her family and friends all look forward to reuniting with her one day in the afterlife.

Joyce was preceded in death by her parents, husband Jim, sister Karen Phillips, and niece Doris Ann Williamson.  She is survived by her five children: Mike (wife, Corinna), Brian (wife, Janet), Joel (fiancée, Pam), Paula Dugic (husband, Gordon), and Sherry Blair (husband, Doug); six grandchildren: Brian: Kelly and Bryan; Paula: Quincey Lawhorn (husband, Josh) and Mackenzey White; and Sherry: Jack and Natalie; and one great granddaughter (Eleanor Joyce Lawhorn).