Joyce Y. Dire

Joyce Dire, known to friends as ""Jo,"" died March 17 after a lengthy respiratory illness. She was 79. Beloved mother, wife and friend, Mrs. Dire had lived in Denver for more than 50 years. She spent her life caring for her family and volunteering for organizations including St. Vincent de Paul School and Church, St. Joseph's Hospital and the Jeanne Jugan Auxiliary of the Little Sisters of the Poor. Mrs. Dire was born July 20, 1933 in Moorhead, Minn., and grew up on a farm outside Ulen, Minn. The third child of Edna and Earl Wheeler, she has three brothers and one sister. Joyce attended the College of Medical Technology in Minneapolis and then moved to Denver to work for the Allaby-Downs Clinic. She married Henry ""Hank"" Dire in 1955. He preceded her in death June 4, 2012. Hank and Jo would have celebrated their 58th wedding anniversary this July. Jo is survived by a son, Rick; a daughter, Angela; two grandchildren, Henry and Julia; a brother, Ralph Wheeler of Minot, N.D.; and a sister, Shirley Dorseth of Little Falls, Minn. A Holy Rosary will be said for Mrs. Dire at 3 p.m. Sunday at Horan and McConaty, 1091 S. Colorado Blvd., in Denver. Visitation will begin at 2 p.m. Mrs. Dire's funeral will be at 1:30 p.m. Monday at St. Vincent de Paul Church, 2375 E. Arizona Ave. in Denver. Internment will be at Mt. Olivet Cemetery. Donations in honor of Mrs. Dire may be made to the Little Sisters of the Poor at Mullen Home for the Elderly, 3629 W. 29th Ave., in Denver.