Joyce Mae Laughlin, 66, of Warrensburg, Missouri, died Sunday, Dec. 20, at St. Luke’s Hospital in Kansas City.

Memorial services will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 2, 2016, at Sweeney-Phillips & Holdren Funeral Home in Warrensburg with the Rev. Hubert Neth officiating. The family will receive friends from 9:30 a.m. until service time Saturday at the funeral home. Interment will be at a later date at Sunset Hill Cemetery.
She was born May 1, 1949, in Kansas City, Kansas, the daughter of James A. and Ila (Watt) Brown.
She and Jerry D. Laughlin were married on Feb. 10, 1989, in Warrensburg. He preceded her in death on May 16, 2015.
Joyce was well known for how hard she always worked. Some of her most memorable and impactful jobs included Harding Glass, her antique shop “Memory Lane,” and Lloyd Allen’s restaurant.
After retiring, she found her true calling in being a caregiver. She took care of many of her friends and also had many housekeeping positions.
She enjoyed hosting and attending girls night with her closest friends. She helped plan many “February Parties” and was always willing to host birthdays, showers, and anything else that was needed. She also loved spending her weekends at the Mallard Bay Campground at Lake of the Ozarks where she met some of her dearest friends.
Her favorite things were NASCAR racing, baking her famous chocolate chip cookies, collecting antiques and spending time with her family and friends. She had many traditions that she always upheld. These included raking leaves, trips to Bagnell Dam with her family, the State Fair and zoo, purchasing Christmas ornaments for her grandchildren, driving the golf cart around the neighborhood, and crafting with her grandkids. She also enjoyed cleaning and always had a fix for anything and everything.
She always put others first. She wanted everyone else to be happy and she would do anything to make that happen. She lived life to the fullest and always reminded everyone to “find the wonderful in today.”
She is survived by two sons, John Hodge and wife, Jacque, of Greenwood, Missouri; and Michael Choate, of Warrensburg; a daughter, Traci Choate, of Warrensburg; two granddaughters, Whitney and Fallon Heflin; and one grandson, Forrest Hodge; two great-granddaughters, Kenzie and Harper Osman; and two sisters, Mary Hicks and companion, Ron, of Merriam, Kansas; and Donna Jean Brown.
She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Jerry, and two brothers, Jimmy and John Lee Brown.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are suggested to the Show-Me Christian Youth Home in La Monte and can be left in care of the funeral home.