Joyce Elaine Firth, 87, of Colona, Illinois, passed away on March 25, 2019 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s and Dementia at Reflections Memory Care in Washington, Illinois. A funeral service will be 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, April 2, 2019 at Colona United Methodist Church, 1709 Cleveland Road, Colona, IL. Visitation will be from 4-7 p.m. on Monday, April 1st, 2019 at Esterdahl Mortuary & Crematory, Ltd., Moline, IL.
Burial will be at Greenview Memorial Gardens. Memorials may be made to either Colona United Methodist Church or to the Alzheimer’s Association. Joyce was born on January 15, 1932 in Rock Island the daughter of Frank and Helen Lang DeVrieze.
She married Robert “Bud” L. Firth on January 6, 1951 in Rock Island and he preceded her in death on March 25, 2014. After graduating from Rock Island High School, Joyce worked at a candy shop where she met her future husband Bud. She then worked as a school secretary for the Rock Island School District.
She was employed in many different capacities over the years at Henry County Bank, First Midwest Bank, Blackhawk Bank and Port Byron State Bank. She worked as an election judge in Henry County for multiple elections. Joyce was a former member of Memorial Christian Church in Rock Island and a current member of the Colona United Methodist Church where she had served as financial secretary for many years.
She was a member of the Colona neighborhood “Birthday Club” and enjoyed her time with neighbors and friends. She also helped organize a local chapter of the Red Hat Society and served as the Queen for many years. Joyce loved to play bingo, cards, do puzzles, play Yahtzee and go shopping.
Her love and devotion to her family were evident, as she never missed an event for any of her children and grandchildren. Over the years, Joyce and Bud enjoyed traveling by taking many bus trips through Sunshine Tours with friends and neighbors. Joyce’s family will cherish the memory of her beautiful holiday decorating and the very special family traditions that she created.
Joyce was a fantastic cook and no holiday dinner was complete without her homemade macaroni and cheese and her cherry pies. Every Thanksgiving, she gave every family member a personalized ornament and at Christmas she held “the Firth Family Sock Night” where she filled a stocking for each child, grandchild and great grandchild. As the family grew, a separate night had to be held just to open all the stockings.
She would also fix a delicious meal and have games for all the children to play at Sock Night. She is survived by her children Deborah (Keith) Baker of Port Byron, IL Ronnie (Paula) Firth of Moline, IL Nancy (Lee) Parker of Morton, IL Robin (David) Hunt of Peoria, IL 11 grandchildren Chad (April) Parker, Angela Parker, Kristin (Jason) DeBono, Jared (Courtney) Baker, Matthew (Brittany) Parker, Kara (Guy) Dierikx, Russell Firth, Kimberly (Joe) Klomes, Michael Firth, Wesley Hunt and Alex Hunt 11 great grandchildren Maxton Parker, Molly Parker, Lilly Parker, Ellie Parker, Grace Parker, Lucy Parker, Myles Dierikx, Harper Dierikx, Tate Dierikx, Elliot Klomes and Sienna DeBono Sister, Barbara Plonka of Huntsville, Alabama Brothers Robert DeVrieze of Milan, IL and Ronnie DeVrieze of Connecticut. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, Son; Jeffery David Firth, great grandson; Brayden Robert, sisters, Shirley Jackson and Beverly Etter, brothers; James DeVrieze, Howard DeVrieze, Edward DeVrieze and Frank DeVrieze.
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