Joyce Georgeson

Elaine “Joyce” Georgeson died peacefully in the presence of family, on June 29th in Denver, Colorado, following a short illness. Joyce is survived by 5 nephews, 5 nieces and a large extended family. Preceded in death by her parents, 9 siblings, one nephew and one niece.

A grave-side interment service will be held at North Viking Lutheran Church in Maddock, ND on September 8, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. All are invited to attend. In lieu of flowers, please send memorials to North Viking Church, 308 Central Avenue, Maddock, ND 58348.

Joyce was born in Maddock, North Dakota on April 10, 1932, the youngest of 9 children of Justin and Olga Georgeson. She attended high school at Benson County Agricultural & Training School and was known by classmates as “Yorgie.” She graduated in 1950. During her senior year she served as the editor in chief of the school’s annual. She also received a Homemakers Degree at the Future Homemakers of America convention that year. Joyce remained a Bobcat at heart and attended many all-school reunions, riding on the Class of 50 float.

Joyce moved to Denver in 1951 and continued her education at Denver University where she took courses in Business Administration. She also took programming classes at Remington Rand School and attended the Emily Griffith Opportunity School.

Joyce’s first job was at the Farmers Coop Creamery in Maddock where she worked in 1950 and 1951. In August of 1951 she began working at Montgomery Ward & Company in Denver. She worked there until January 1956, working her way up from file clerk to head accounting clerk in the Accounts Payable department.

Joyce’s next career stop was at Band-It/Houdaille where she worked in data processing for the international organization. She started in January of 1956 and worked there until mid-1979. The pinnacle of her tenure at Band-It came in March 1976 when she was named the first woman vice-president in company history.

Joyce rounded out her career as a Systems Analyst at VSA (Vendor Supply of America). Joyce was noted for her selfless attitude, exemplary morale, and unquestionable ability, receiving promotions for her dedication through both mergers and the opening of new divisions across the country. This high level of dedication carried through the acquisition of VSA by International Multifoods, the company Joyce retired from in 2002.

Joyce was an avid sports fan and was a season ticket holder for both the Denver Broncos and Colorado Rockies for many years. However, she is most remembered for her love and skill in both golf and bowling. These activities provided the place where she met many of her life-long friends.

Joyce participated in golf tournaments throughout the Denver area, most notably as a “Windsorette” on her home course at Windsor Gardens, and at Overland golf course. Her name appeared often in local papers for making holes-in-one. She received recognition for her many years of service putting together the tournaments and weekly games as a Windsorette.

Joyce began bowling in 1952 in a league from the Montgomery Ward where she worked, and went on to carry a 180+ average for more than 10 years in several leagues around town, winning many league championships. She was elected to the Denver Women’s Bowling Association’s (DWBA) Board of Directors in 1962 and served for 21 years. In 1969, Joyce won the Women’s International Bowling Congress (WIBC) Division 1 doubles with partner Bertha Keeney. In 1981, the DWBA Board of Directors honored her with a WIBC permanent membership award. In 1985, Joyce represented the USA in international competition at the first Masters Games in Toronto, Canada. She was the leader in the qualifying round and finished second in the round-robin finals, bringing home the Copper Medal. In 1986, she bowled the high scratch score of 803 in the Denver “600” Club Tournament. That same year, the gold certificate was presented to Joyce at the Colorado Women’s Bowling Association (CWBA) Tournament in Denver, in recognition of her participation in 30 tournaments. Joyce was inducted into the DWBA Hall of Fame in 1987. In 2008, Joyce was recognized for participating in 50 consecutive United States Bowling Congress (USBC) Women’s Championships, where she continued to participate for several more years.

AFFILIATIONS

Girl Scouts of America

Inspiration Toastmistress Club

“600” Bowling Club

DWBA

WIBC

CWBA

USBC

Joyce’s family hopes that you enjoy these memories of her childhood in Maddock, written by her shortly before her final illness:

“In 1st grade in 1938, I lived in the country and went to a city school. In the country we did not have electricity or running water but in the wintertime, the school had an indoor toilet. I will always remember that the seat went down when you sat and it flushed when you got up. I had never even seen one before and was scared that I had broken it! I ran out of the room without my bloomers! I also remember that we wore long underwear with brown cotton hose. If you were a town kid, you wore white hose.”

“At our farm, the lights in the house were kerosene or gas lights. We carried lanterns back and forth to the barn. We raised chickens, cattle, pigs, horses, turkeys and geese. The chicken coop had nests above the floor, packed with straw. The ground was raked and troughs were by the wall with feed for the chickens. Baby chicks were ordered from the hatchery and came in a box by express mail. A pen of boards was made in the house where the chicks lived until they were big enough to live in the coop. The eggs from the chickens were washed, checked for cracks and placed in the egg crate. When the crate was full, it was taken to the town grocery and sold for groceries.”

Please share memories of Joyce and condolences with her family by signing the Tribute Wall above.