Martha Joyce Slack

Joyce was born April 14, 1938, in Oakland, Nebraska. She lived on a farm with her family and attended Mount Olive School in Burt County. She graduated from there and attended Oakland High School until graduating in 1955. She was a member of the Methodist Church and later attended Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln, Nebraska where she received a Two-year Teaching Certificate. She then taught First Grade in Tekamah, Nebraska. She met and married Larry D. Slack from Tekamah on December 21, 1958, and joined the Lutheran Church. She continued to teach, getting more education hours from various colleges until she went back to Nebraska Wesleyan in 1968 where she majored in Elementary Education and received her bachelor’s degree in education in 1969.

She then moved to York, Nebraska where she taught first grade and then second grade. She attended the Presbyterian Church where she taught Sunday School. She was involved in Christian Women’s Club, Delta Kappa Gamma, and several teachers’ organizations. She retired in 1998 after 39 years of teaching. She accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior while living there. Larry and she attended the Baptist Church until they moved back to Tekamah. Larry passed away on August 22, 1999.

She visited her sister and family in Florida and decided to move to Advent Christian Village in Dowling Park, Florida in 2001 where she was involved in many activities including reporting the news for her neighborhood and taught pottery classes. She was baptized and joined Bethel Creek Baptist church near there in 2003 where she taught Sunday School, sang in the choir, taught Vacation Bible School and for a short time, printed the bulletin. She also attended Bixler Memorial Church where she sang in the choir.

A lover of cats, Joyce cherished her seven Siamese cats over the years, with Sammi being her final companion. She is survived by her niece Diane and her husband Ron Harris of Jacksonville FL, as well as Nephew, John and wife Kathy Werkmeister and Niece, Joan and her husband Jeff Jurgena who all reside in Colorado. Also, there are many great and great great nieces and nephews who survive her.

Other than her husband Larry, her parents, Daniel C. and Ellen Werkmeister from Oakland, Nebraska, a sister Gretta and husband Clifton Peterson of Jacksonville, Florida also a brother, Daniel W. and his wife Mary Lou Werkmeister formerly of Colorado and a Nephew Alan R. Peterson of Jacksonville FL preceded her in death.