Betty "Joyce" Seavecki

Joyce Seavecki, passed peacefully on October 19, 2020. Born in Oshkosh and raised by her grandmother, poet and dreamer, Melva French (Gado) Collins, Joyce graduated from Pardeeville High School and entered the United States Cadet Nurse Corps graduating as a registered nurse of Mercy Medical Center Nursing School in 1948.

During her student nurse training, Joyce met a patient, Edward Seavecki. Edward wooed her with trips to Leon’s Frozen Custard stand and picking lilacs in the rain along Lake Winnebago. Their marriage would last 72 years and produce seven children. They went on to have adventures all over the world and loved the Wautoma community where they spent most of their years together. Three nursing school classmates and their husbands joined Ed and Joyce to form the Card Club, a Sheepshead tradition that would continue for 50 years.

Joyce was known for her non-stop energy that continued well into her nineties. She was a founding member of the Home and Hearth Homemakers that started in 1959. She was the president of the homemakers and honored as Homemaker of the Year in 1997. She also was a longtime member of the Wautoma Women’s Club.

Joyce’s life work was dedicated to her patients and she worked as an RN for 44 years. While serving as The Director of Nursing at Wautoma Hospital and then as an Outreach Coordinator with La Clinica Family Health, she taught her children to care for others and showed compassion while leading by example.

For those that knew Joyce, they knew of her love of a good party, good food and of course, dancing! Her pizza making is epic as are her pies. Just as strong was Joyce’s dedication to God and she was a lifelong member of St. Joseph Catholic Church.

A mother is the first person to fully love you and Joyce never stop loving her children to the end. The greatest gift we can return to her is to lead our lives in a way that we spread that unfailing love.

Joyce is survived by her husband Edward and her children, Joy Kelly, Michael Seavecki (Victoria), William Seavecki (Cindy), Peter Seavecki (Rose), Jane Morrow (Dan) and Steve Seavecki. She will also be missed by 12 grandchildren and 18  great-grandchildren. Joyce was preceded in death by her daughter Cynthia Nielsen (Bjarne) and her sister, Audrey Grothman.

Her family will celebrate Joyce’s homecoming to be with the Lord on October 30, 2020 with a private mass at St. Joseph Catholic Church, Wautoma. In lieu of flowers, a memorial will be established in Joyce’s name for Alzheimer’s research.