Joyce Marie Whitlatch, 87, was received into God's loving arms on December 6, 2024, leaving behind a legacy of compassion. Funeral Services: 11 a.m. on Saturday, December 21, 2024, at Grace Baptist Church, Maron, Iowa. Visitation: 9-11 a.m. at the church. Burial: Lisbon Cemetery. Arrangements are with Stewart Baxter Funeral & Memorial Services, Mount Vernon, Iowa. Joyce was born June 8, 1937, to Gerald and Mabel (Grisham) Thompson in Bertram, Iowa. She started her education at a country school, then went to Springville High School where she was a proud graduate of the class of 1955 (attending Mount Vernon High School for one year). She later married the boy she thought was cute in Kindergarten, Donald Fisk, and had three daughters and four grandchildren: Donna (Russ) Sauer and children, Karin Sauer and Brandon Sauer, Sheryl (Kevin) Meagher and children, Calisse (Zach) Wiseman, and Adam Derrick, and Kim Pasker. Joyce and Don later divorced but remained good friends. She later married Aryl Whitlatch, retired Army National Guard CW5 in 1983, and enjoyed 37 years together until his passing in 2020. They traveled across the United States and spent a majority of their vacations in Branson, Missouri. and Mountain View, Arkansas. She was musically talented playing the piano, slide steel guitar, Hawaiian guitar, and the autoharp. Joyce retired from Rockwell Collins in 1995 as a Lab Assistant working on circuit boards for military equipment. She had the pleasure of working with a wonderful group of ladies during her time there. In her younger years, she enjoyed dancing the jitterbug and she continued to enjoy dancing to various genres, including polka and square dancing, until a couple of years ago. She loved going to flea markets and driving through the countryside. She was an avid salt and pepper shaker collector and later a collector of teacups and saucers. Family was very important to her and she loved spending time with them. She enjoyed passing on her skills of music, sewing, crafts, and cooking to them. Her first love was her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. She was born again and baptized at Grace Baptist Church where she played the piano for more than 20 years. She was also a Sunday School teacher, active in the bus ministry, played the piano, sang at various nursing homes on Sunday afternoons, and taught home-economics for many years in the Christian school. She and her husband, Aryl, started 'Hilltoppers' for the seniors in their church. They spent many hours planning games and making meals together for those events. Making sure others were happy and cared for was her gift. Left to share her memories are her daughters, grandchildren, and brother, (Gerald) Edward Thompson of Mechanicsville.Preceding her in death was the children's father, Don; her loving husband, Aryl; parents, Gerald and Mabel Thompson; and two sisters, Evelyn Hilsenbeck and Delores Mulnix. Her graciousness will be missed by all who knew her. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you perform an act of kindness in Joyce's memory so the world continues to grow a little brighter.