Joyce Miller
Redmond, Utah
Joyce Jessop Miller, 87, of Redmond passed away on Monday, June 24, 2024 at home, surrounded by her family. She was born November 3, 1936 in Kanab to Vergel Yeates Jessop and Verna Leone Spencer. She was the sixth of her parents’ nine children.
As a young girl, Joyce was an athletic tomboy. She loved climbing the red rocks in southern Utah and could outrun any boy in a foot race. She added baseball and ballet to her interests as she became a teenager. Although her family never owned horses, Joyce LOVED them and took every opportunity to get in the saddle.
At an early age, Joyce learned how to work hard. She tended children for other people, cleaned hotels and waitressed in St. George, all while keeping up with her schooling. She attended schools in Glendale, Utah, Colorado City, Arizona, and St. George, Utah.
Joyce married at age 17. A year later, she and John Kunz started their family, which she felt was her greatest accomplishment in life. Her children are: Callie (Kurt) Losee, Dana (Ray–deceased) Black, Angela (Gordon) Beh, Natalie (Russ) Meredith, John Kunz, Jim (Jill) Kunz, Joe (Joyce) Kunz, Jeff (Laura) Hausauer, and Lisa (Mike) Nagy. She is the grandmother of 44, great-grandmother of 113, and great-great-grandmother of 15.
In her lifetime, there were many ups and downs, with many moves to different locations, including Bluebell, Talmage, Hurricane, St. George, Lehi, American Fork, Draper and Granger – all in Utah. She and her family also lived in Las Vegas and spent a summer in Lomita, California. After retirement, her final residence has been at Redmond where she has lived for the past 25 years. Her main occupation was a developmentalist at USTS (the state training school) in American Fork, where she worked for 20 years.
Joyce is preceded in death by husbands: John Taylor Kunz, and Dennis James Miller; parents; siblings: Rena Dockstader, Arleen Bateman, LaDell (Buzz) Jessop, Elaine Bistline, Fen Jessop, and Carolyn Ballard.
Her surviving sisters are Genevieve (Jenny) Larson and June Ammerman.
Joyce was deeply loved by many. She was a woman of strength and resilience who gave everything she had to her family. We will truly miss her.
Funeral services will be held Saturday, June 29, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. in the Redmond Ward Chapel. Viewing at the church from 9:30 – 10:30 a.m. Burial will be in the Redmond Cemetery. Funeral Directors: Magleby Mortuary, Richfield, Salina and Manti. Online guestbook at www.maglebymortuary.com
