Joyce Bloemker

Joyce Louise Bloemker, the daughter of Robert John Martin Beer and Rhea Johanna (Moeller) Beer, was born June 16, 1942 at Wilton Junction, Iowa. Joyce was baptized the day of her birth and was later confirmed at St. John Lutheran Church in Fairbanks, Iowa. She attended school through her junior year at DeWitt, Iowa and graduated from high school at Wilton Junction in 1960. Joyce received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Concordia College in St. Paul, Minnesota. She taught elementary grades in Lutheran Schools at Fort Dodge and Clarinda, Iowa and New Haven, Indiana.
Joyce and Rudolph Edward Bloemker were married on June 20, 1965 at Grace Lutheran Church in DeWitt. Their marriage was blessed with three sons, Timothy Martin, Jeffrey William, and Troy Edward.
On June 15, 1981, Rev. Bloemker accepted a call to St. John's Lutheran Church in rural Hastings, Iowa. Their sons attended Malvern Community Schools and were active in sports, 4-H, and scouting. Joyce was an active member of St. John's Ladies Aid and enjoyed working in the Lutheran Women's Missionary League. She also enjoyed sewing and various crafts including macramA(c), tole painting, oils and "rub out" painting. She was a tireless worker for the 1985 project to complete the book, History of Mills County, Iowa. Both Joyce and Rudolph had traced their ancestors back to Germany and the Lutheran background. Joyce loved their country home, sitting on the front porch listening to the many birds, and viewing beautiful sunsets and views of the rolling farmland. She often said that they lived in a "Currier and Ives" setting with a canopy of brilliant blue or star-studded black overhead.
Following the call of the ministry, the Bloemker family moved to Ely, Minnesota and later to Sauk Centre, Minnesota where they were living when Rev. Bloemker died on April 17, 2005 at the age of 63. The family brought Rev. Bloemker to Malvern and the East Liberty Cemetery for burial among those beautiful rolling hills and sunsets.
Joyce moved to Omaha, Nebraska where she purchased a home and joined Zion West Lutheran Church. She continued to be active in L.W.M.L. and would send greeting cards to those who might not otherwise receive special occasion mail.
Surrounded by her family, Joyce received her crown of glory on April 9, 2007 at Jennie Edmundson Hospital in Council Bluffs, Iowa at the age of 64 years, 9 months, and 21 days. Her spirit and wish to help others was present even in death, as she joined the Iowa Donor Network in helping to save other lives.
Joyce was preceded in death by her parents, Robert and Rhea Beer and husband, Rev. Rudolph Bloemker.
Joyce is survived by her sons, Timothy Bloemker and his wife Cody and grandson Chauncey of Omaha, Jeff Bloemker and his wife Jodi of Smithville, MO, and Troy Bloemker of Fargo, ND; adopted family Debra Schroeder and fiancA(c)e Robert Saint and children Brian Schroeder, Stacy Schroeder, and Nicholas Schroeder of Gretna, NE; brother Kenneth Beer and wife Frances of DeWitt, IA; nieces and nephews; other relatives and friends.

Burial in the East Liberty Cemetery, rural Malvern, IA.