Sharon Ruth (Jockisch) Boice

I’m so excited to be here! I know I showed up very suddenly on July 23, 2025, and didn’t even bring luggage, but I trust You knew I was coming! I’m your newest resident here in Heaven! I’m sure You already know, but my name is Sharon (Jockisch) Boice, and I am so grateful to be here. Thank You so much for everything You did to give me the chance to live forever with You.

Let me start at the beginning. Thank You for allowing me to be born on November 4, 1943, in Beardstown, IL, to my wonderful parents, Clyde and Christine (Hendricker) Jockisch. I was blessed with three sisters—Yvonne (Boice), Joanne (Piluski), and Janet (Lauderback)—who were there for so many important moments. Times were tough growing up in the post-WWII era, but it all felt like fun simply because we had each other.

The smartest decision I ever made was accepting You as my Lord and Savior when I was a child.

My second-best decision was marrying my high school sweetheart, Gerold (Jerry) Boice. We met in a church youth group and married young—me at 18, him at 21—in 1962. Thank You for guiding us through the early years when we didn’t have a clue. We’re so glad we followed You anyway.

I worked as a secretary, and Jerry was a barber in our little river town. We had a lot of life ahead of us. I remember when we were so broke in those early years that Jerry would come home from a long day of work and not even ask what was for dinner—he knew it was Banquet Pot Pies (10 for a dollar)! We didn’t complain, and to this day, they’re still one of my favorites.

Then came the Vietnam War. Jerry served overseas as a combat medic, and I held down the fort working as a secretary at the Illinois State Mental Hospital in Jacksonville. We wrote to each other nearly every day. I saved every single letter, all these years later.

You were so merciful to bring Jerry home to me—whole, older, and wiser. After eight years of marriage, we were blessed with our Sunshine- Michelle, in 1970. She was and is a ball of fire, so when we got an improved and refined version- in 1973 the calm girl who hung the Moon- Carla, we decided we had bested the odds enough and we were complete.

Life has many blessings if you’re willing to sacrifice, and we were.

Thank You for the laughter and the crazy times too—like the time a huge hog showed up at our rural house in the 1970s. I was convinced You had sent us that pig… to eat! The whole family spent hours in the cold chasing that sucker, only to watch it trot back to the neighbor’s outhouse down the road which, Surprise! turned out to be its actual home. My first—and last—attempt at pig wrangling was a bust. For the next 50 years, whenever I had a wild idea, all anyone had to say was, “God sent us that pig!”

As we worked hard in our respective careers, we moved around a lot as Jerry was going through university on the GI BIll at WIU in Macomb and then became a teacher, principal, and a high school superintendent in Illinois. I supported him through it all—riding my bike around town delivering homemade apple pies from our orchard, making friends, and bringing joy wherever I could. I always had a heart for the overlooked—the smallest children, the elderly, and anyone whose voice was too quiet to be heard.

We were active in church and community, striving not just to talk about our faith, but to live it.

Eventually, we retired early from Illinois (at ages 52 and 55) and moved to Iowa, where Jerry worked in the Eldon school district. We even lived on the estate of Tom and Roseanne Arnold while their trust was being dissolved—a luxurious, quirky chapter we didn’t see coming!

Later came our favorite years: Carla married Chad (Craycraft) and we became grandparents. Our grandsons, Gabriel (the Eagle Scout) and “Cool Tim” became our pride and joy. We moved to Sherman, IL to be closer to them, and in 2021 moved into the Illinois Veterans Home in Quincy for medical reasons.

God, thank You for the ILVHQ, an incredible place, filled with compassionate caregivers. It was a full-circle moment for us—Jerry had sacrificed so much during the Vietnam War and was ultimately taken by the long-term effects of Agent Orange in 2022.

Marriage and family take work, but they’re worth it. I never once regretted it. Not even when my kids tried their best to drive me nuts in their younger years. They tried hard some days! But they turned out to be wonderful women we are proud of and I felt truly loved—especially in my old age, when they cared for me so well.

I even wrote a book about You called No Fear in Dying. That book once led to an awkward but funny moment when I told a Price Is Right producer he’d be going to Hell if he didn’t know the Lord. Unsurprisingly, I was not selected for Contestants’ Row or win any prizes. But Michelle and I got a great story (and a fun trip to California) out of it!

Dementia may have stolen some of my memory, but it never took my personality. I always got a kick out of overpaying people and dramatically announcing, “Keep the change, ya filthy animal!”—a nod to my favorite movie, Home Alone.

Thank You, God, that even with dementia, I always knew who I was, where I was, and who my loved ones were. I didn’t suffer. I was joking with the staff just hours before I peacefully slipped away in my sleep.

Today, I receive my crown—and I deserve it. I know my family is sad, but they have no regrets. They understand I’ve gone on to something better. So please, show me around—I really have missed my mother! I can’t wait to see my parents, grandparents, friends, loved ones, especially my sweet grandson Seth, whom I can’t wait to get to know, and most of all, to my beloved husband, Jerry. The rest of our family will come join us later.

Here’s to the greatest day of my life—the FIRST day of my afterlife.

P.S. My girls have decided to throw a little Celebration of Life Going Home Party on Wednesday, July 30, 2025, at Butler Funeral Home in Springfield, IL, with graveside services to follow at Camp Butler Military Cemetery.

Instead of sending flowers, we request that you give some flowers to someone living that you love, bake an apple pie for a friend or go find a pig to chase around for a few minutes.

Visitation and Funeral Ceremony: Family will receive friends at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, July 30, 2025, at Butler Funeral Home- Springfield, 900 S. 6th St., Springfield, until the time of the Ceremony at 12:30 p.m. with Pastor Jim Thatcher officiating.

Graveside Ceremony will follow at 2:00 p.m. at Camp Butler National Cemetery.