Joyce M. McCabe's Obituary
Joyce M. Bertness McCabe passed away on June 21, 2026. Visitation will be held on Saturday, August 15th at 10:00 a.m. with a memorial service at 11:00 a.m. followed by lunch at Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in Clinton, Iowa. Snell-Zornig Funeral Homes & Crematory is assisting the family with arrangements
Joyce was born May 17, 1925 to Raymond and Ina Bertness on their farm near Sioux Rapids, Iowa. She graduated from Sioux Rapids High school and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1946 from the University of Northern Iowa, then Iowa State Teachers College, in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
After a year of teaching in Spirit Lake, Iowa, Joyce married William H. McCabe on August 30, 1947. They made their home in Cedar Falls, Iowa; then Maquoketa, Iowa; and finally in 1955 in Clinton, Iowa, where they raised their three sons.
In Clinton, Joyce often worked as a substitute teacher in the public schools. She was a member of Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church where she was active in Ruth Circle and volunteered in the church library. She enjoyed her memberships in P.E.O. Chapter JN and Sunoida. She also enjoyed playing bridge with her friends and traveling in the United States and abroad. Every summer she traveled to the family cottage at Lake Okoboji, Iowa, to be with her family there.
In 2018 she moved to Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, to be near her son Ronald and his wife Deborah. While in Wisconsin Rapids, Joyce was a member of First English Lutheran Church.
Joyce was preceded in death by her husband William McCabe, her parents Raymond and Ina Bertness, and her brothers Raymond and Philip Bertness. She is survived by her children Ronald (Deborah) McCabe of Wisconsin Rapids, WI; Kelly (Theresa) McCabe of Flagstaff, AZ; and Bruce (Kathy) McCabe of Minneapolis, MN; and by her grandchildren Daniel (Trisha) McCabe and their children Jaxson, Kaia, and Camden; Michael McCabe of Minneapolis, MN; and Jayme (Shawna) Barbosa and their son Jayme Paul of Bellemont, AZ; and many nieces and nephews.
Joyce was profoundly grateful for the care she received from River Run Assisted Living, Dr. Frank Walter of Wisconsin River Orthopedics, Aspirus Riverview Hospital, Wisconsin Rapids Health Services, and North Shore at Home hospice care.
Memorial donations can be made to Doctors Without Borders, Feeding America, Mayo Clinic, or Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church.
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