Joyce Violet Holden

Joyce Violet Holden entered the world on November 29, 1931, in her parent’s home 12 miles southeast of Valley City, in Barnes County, ND. She left us with her two beloved daughters each holding one of her hands-on Sunday, May 5, 2019, in Bismarck, ND.

Services will be held at 10:30 am Wednesday, May 8, at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 106 Osage Ave., Bismarck, with Rev. Julie Anderson officiating.

Burial is at Fairview Cemetery, Bismarck.

Visitation will be from 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm Tuesday, May 7, at Eastgate Funeral Service, 2302 E. Divide Ave., Bismarck, and will continue one hour prior to the service at the church.

Joyce was the third of five daughters born to Henry and Hattie Greb. She graduated from Valley City High School and married Lawrence Holden on February 12, 1950, in Valley City.

After marriage they moved to Fargo and then purchased their first home in Moorhead, MN. Their children, Dave, Larry Lee, Janeen, Debra, Darla and Christopher were born in Fargo while living in Moorhead, MN. Babies Larry Lee and Darla died in infancy.

While her husband Larry, a professional driver, was hired to drive for Consolidated Freightways the family moved to Crystal Lake, IL, and then to North Platte, NE, and eventually to Bismarck, ND, where they purchased their home in South Bismarck. In Bismarck, Joyce worked for the North Dakota Safety Council until she retired in 2003.

Endowed with a strong creativity, she was involved in many craft projects and was known for her beautiful charcoal drawings of the farm where she spent her early years. She was an avid reader and was an awesome cook. She belonged to the Prairie Belles Red Hat club and enjoyed the friendship of those wonderful ladies. Joyce was a member of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church and was active in the Women of the Moose while her husband was alive. She loved camping and family reunions and kept track of births and marriages of her family. When money was short, and her birth family was large she learned to play cards and there was seldom a meeting of her siblings that the decks didn’t come out and a rousting game of Hand and Foot Canasta began.

Joyce is survived by her two daughters, Deb (Rick) Sandoval, North Platte, NE, and Ginny (Charlie) Swenson, Bismarck; seven grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Larry; her sons, Larry Lee, Dave, and Chris; daughter, Darla; parents, Henry and Hattie Greb; brother, Vernon Greb; and sisters, June (Jim) Hannig, Tootsie (Chet) Maine, Claire (Lloyd) Overbo, and Lenie (Gene) Johnson.