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Joyce Marie Murken Feb. 29, 1932-May 13, 2006 -Joyce Marie Murken died Saturday, May 13, at her home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, following a long battle with cancer. She was 74. Born February 29, 1932, in Indianola, Iowa, to Roma and Dwight Stevenson, Joyce attended Shimer Women's College in Mt. Carroll, Ill. In 1949, her involvement in an automobile accident in front of a Simpson College fraternity house in her hometown became the occasion of her acquaintance with Arlo F. Murken, a student who assisted her. They were married September 22, 1950, in Indianola. Joyce and Arlo raised their three children in Chicago, where Arlo worked in management at Brad Regan, Inc., a division of Goodyear Rubber. Joyce was an active volunteer at Little City, a care facility for disabled children, and as a Pink Lady at a local hospital. In 1986, the couple moved to the Southwest, where they became real estate brokers and founded their own company, New West Realty. Joyce's illness was diagnosed in 2001. A warm, vivacious and lovely woman who was affectionately nicknamed "Foxy," Joyce was well known for her intelligence and love for life. She delighted in her many friends, her children and grandchildren; her election in 1947 as Miss Marine Corps in Davenport, Iowa, is merely one indication of the life-long popularity she enjoyed. She was an avid golfer and served as the president of the Rio Rancho Country Club Golf Association in Albuquerque. She loved to read, knit, and play cards, and she expertly completed New York Times crossword puzzles until only a few weeks before her death. In 1989, Joyce was thrilled to be selected as a competitor on "Wheel of Fortune." Her children remember Joyce as a dedicated mother who reared them with an appreciation of fun, and a great sense of humor. Preceded in death by her parents and elder siblings Stanley and Dwighta. Joyce is survived by her husband; children David of Albuquerque, Arla "Liz" Casey of Salem, Ore., and Joseph of Dayton, Ohio; and three grandchildren: Elizabeth Casey of Chicago, Gabrielle Casey of Monmouth, Ore., and Andrew Murken of Dayton. A service will be held at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 17, at French Mortuary in Albuquerque, where ashes will be interred. Memorials can be made to Odyssey Hospice of Albuquerque. The family requests no flowers. French Mortuary - Westside Chapel 9300 Golf Course Rd. NW (505) 897-0300
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