DEKALB — There will be a memorial service for Joyce Elaine (Dailey) Davidson on Saturday, Aug. 14 at the First Lutheran Church, 324 North Third St., DeKalb. Visitation will be at the church at 1 p.m. with the service beginning at 2 p.m. There will be refreshments following the service. Masks will be required.

Joyce peacefully passed away from a short illness on Nov. 12, 2020, in Hibbing Minnesota. She was born Jan. 4, 1934, in Thief River Falls, Minnesota, the daughter of Clarence and Mildred (Sortedahl) Dailey.

Joyce was a 1951 graduate of Red Lake Falls High School. She graduated St. Luke's School of Nursing in Duluth, Minnesota in 1953. She married Donald Davidson on Jan. 8, 1955. The family moved to Northern Illinois in 1959 where she worked at the Dekalb Public Hospital and Kishwaukee Community Hospital.

She held positions as staff nurse, evening supervisor, director of nursing, and ER nurse manager. After 43 years of dedicated service, Joyce retired from her direct patient care responsibilities and went back to work for the hospital as the community education coordinator until her final retirement from the medical field. She touched many lives in this community through her years of devoted service and mentoring.

Joyce's faith was her comfort and strength her entire life. She was an active member of St. John's Lutheran Church in Creston where she was the church organist and Sunday school teacher for many years. After relocating to DeKalb, she became a member of Bethlehem Lutheran Church and later First Lutheran Church. 

After retirement she continued to care for her family and community. She worked for Meals on Wheels as an intake person and volunteered delivering meals for many years. She belonged to the local chapter of P.E.O., the Red Hat's Society, gave tours at the Elwood House, volunteered for Hospice, supported the local Huskies through their sporting events, and even took up golf.

Joyce loved to travel and enjoyed many adventures with her family and friends over the years. Her passion for reading was passed onto her family for generations. She loved music, dancing and attending theatre productions of all kinds. She performed in the hospital’s productions of Gauze and Applause and was part of a clogging dance group.

Joyce is survived by her children: Steven (Sue) Davidson of Hibbing, Valerie Kennedy of Duluth, and Deborah Davidson of Sycamore; grandchildren: Katie Blight, Grant Peterson, Jennifer (Chris) Kohel, Ryan Peterson, Jacob Davidson, Michael Davidson, Chelsea Davidson and Samantha (Rob) Beckmann; great-grandchildren: Dainen Blight, Elaina Blight, Violet Davidson, Sloane Peterson, and Emma Beckmann; and extended family.
She was preceded in death by her parents Clarence and Mildred, sister Mae Danzl, former husband Donald Davidson, (father of her three children) and special friend Keith Setchell.