Joyce Rubenzer 1948 – 2019 Bloomington, Minnesota Born January 21, 1948 to Jim & Adele (Ludvik) Whiting in Ladysmith Wisconsin lived in Weyerhaeuser Wi from 1948 to 1961. Lived in Ohio from 1961 to 1963. Moved to Chippewa Falls WI in the fall of 1963. Graduated from CH HI High School in 1966. Graduated as personal secretary from Minnesota School of business in September 1967. Work for the Mpls Star Tribune newspaper until September 1968. First date with her future husband Bob Rubenzer New Years eve 1967, Became engaged in August 1968 and were married December 21, 1968 . Lived in Chippewa Falls, WI, West St Paul, MN, Eau Claire WI, Duluth MN and finally in Bloomington MN from 1983 until her death on December 20, 2019. Had three children, Paul, Craig & David. Four grandchildren, Miles, Ella, Zoe, and Serena. Graduated from University of Minnesota with a degree teaching elementary education in 1987. Taught in the Eden Prairie Minnesota school district stating in 1988 until she retired in 2011.Welcome to all of you and thank you for being here. I am Craig Rubenzer and I’ve been offered the honor to speak for a few minutes about my mom, whose life we are celebrating together here today. I realized as I set about this task, that we all have different and special memories of my mom. I speak today as a representative of our individual and collective experiences we’ve been blessed to have with her in our lives. We will offer the opportunity to share additional memories or stories after this service. My Mom, Joyce Marie Rubenzer was born on January 21, 1948 in Weyerhaeuser, Wisconsin to Jim and Adele Whiting. She was the oldest of 5 children and the only girl. She was a caregiver from the very beginning. When she would tell stories of her growing up with her brothers Tom, Bill, Dave, and John, I would envision Wendy Darling from Peter Pan. I don’t think they had a Saint Bernard but somehow I think she likely played the part of Nana as well. [ Come to think of it, my brother Paul used to pretend to be Peter Pan when he was little….hmmm, maybe there’s more to this.] Joyce, mom, grandma, aunt, sister, daughter, wife and Mrs Rubenzer were all names for her...and as my dad recently shared from the archives, the name Windy (apparently an homage [ah mig] to her mom, Adele, who was sometimes known as Breezy). Whatever the name, the best word to describe my mom is love. She lived her life with dignity, determination, and optimism. She guided us all to see the good in everyone and focus on the best qualities of people. Our family moved to Duluth in the mid seventies, away from the familiar family and friends of the Chippewa Falls area. You’d think that having 3 boys would have kept her hands full but she somehow ended up taking care of 2 more boys, Sean and Brian, while their parents worked. They became an extension of our family and she led us all on countless adventures and outings throughout the Duluth area. I remember mom doing so many things to keep 5 boys entertained. It could be "Pirate day" or "sword-master day" it didn't matter, she always had daylong adventures that kept us busy and included a healthy and nutritious lunch that for sure included fruit roll ups. Of course there was the "how long can you stay outside" game which I think she used a lot less than she should have. She had the incredible ability to turn an ice cream bucket and some old fabric with a piece of furniture into a sleep-over adventure that would last all week-end. When I was 7 and saw Mary Poppins for the first time. I thought it was my mom on the screen. Perhaps it was because they had a similar look, or the fact that she’d parade us around with all sorts of songs, charades, and creative play. She was somehow able to change 4 folding chairs into our school bus, airplane, theater seating, waiting room, and the list goes on. With just a bedsheet, she’d create a curtain and set the stage for countless skits, puppet shows, and talent expositions. I’m pretty sure most everything had some sort of song to go with it. “A Spoonful of Sugar”, and “I Love To Laugh” were sprinkled into most of our activities, along with some originals such as “Boom Boom Boom Boom put your pajamas on”. Her spirit of kindness was sprinkled with a bit of fun in everything and made her the real life Mary Poppins for many... and for those of us who knew her best, “Practically Perfect in Every Way!” Of course, I think my dad really thought of her more as Maria von Trapp from the Sound of Music but I suppose the characters are kinda similar. I’m just pulling your leg… speaking of legs “I knew a man with a wooden leg named Smith... What was the name of his other leg?” Mom loved telling that joke. Our house in Duluth was within walking distance to UMD. My dad shared with me that one day she called him at work and said she had registered for college to become a teacher. I’d guess she was 30 something and at that time and very much a non-traditional student. Looking back, I’m not sure how she managed her courses while caring for all of us but she was meant to be a teacher. Before earning her degree, she was heavily involved in teaching religion class and faith formation. Paul, David, and I all had her as our religion teacher. I don’t recall a time where she wasn’t our teacher and I’d guess hundreds of other kids too. Maybe this is the part of her that reminds my dad of Maria Von Trapp. My mom always saw the best in people. Being a teacher, you can imagine a few disruptive or bad students that could give her a hard time. The thing I remember was that she would always find some special gift or bit of kindness (no matter how hidden), and draw that out to help guide success in small ways. We moved to Bloomington in the early 80s and mom completed student teaching and began her “formal” teaching career. She worked for many years in the Eden Prairie school district for various classrooms, most recently helping kids with disabilities, to be included in the everyday aspects of the school day. I know she brightened the day for many kids, teachers, and parents. The earlier years in Bloomington were also her son’s teenage years.I think those stories are best left for another time. Whenever our friends would come over though, you can be sure there were cookies or brownies or some other treat. Paul tells the story of his friend Mike’s shock when he stayed over for dinner once. We had tacos and Mom had all of the condiments cut and put into individual bowls. His response was "do you always eat like that?" and the answer is yes. Family dinner was very important to my mom, even if her sons weren't always so into it. Mom loved everyone but especially children. Her creativity in play was amazing and was rejuvenated with her grandkids and nieces. A bit of yarn, a paperclip, and cutout paper fish was all she needed to take the kids on a fishing expedition from the balcony in the foyer. The girls would spend hours playing to her music box and dancing with an assortment of colorful scarves. Mom wore many hats…literally. She loved playing dress up with the kids and would be wearing one hat as a store clerk, disappear and return with the hat of a cowboy or maybe even the Cat In the Hat. One of our favorite family traditions was on Christmas Eve where my mom would make Beef Wellington and a specialty soup that was made with Thyme….The herb...well it did take a lot of time to prepare so... maybe... I’m not so sure. I guess thyme keeps on ticking or maybe we were just lucky to have tyme on our hands…….but it is clear today more than ever that thyme flies. Mom, thank you for teaching us your loving kindness...and most importantly that “In every job that must be done, There is an element of fun….” We love and miss you. God bless.