Joyce Hutchison

Joyce Hutchison, 76, passed away at home on Saturday, May 7 after an almost 3-year battle with cancer. She was surrounded by her loving family.

Joyce was born in 1940 on the family farm in Leon, IA to Lynn and Madelyn (Griffin) LaFollette. She arrived just a few minutes before her twin brother on April Fools’ Day, a birthday they shared with their mother. Not expected to survive, the twins were immediately christened Mary and Joseph, afterwards changed to Mary Joyce and Daniel Joseph. Joyce and Joe had an incredible twin bond. Their family also included brothers Edward, Richard and Eugene.

Joyce left home in 1958 to attend Mercy Hospital School of Nursing in Des Moines, where she made many lifelong friends. In 1961 she met the love of her life, Gary Hutchison. They married on April 28, 1962 and were blessed with three children, Joseph, Michael and Julie. Joyce cherished her role as wife and mother. She took an active part in all of her children’s activities, never too busy to volunteer at school, cheer from the sidelines, or provide a welcoming home for their friends. She became a second mom to many. She accepted everyone, whether it meant couches full of sleeping teenagers or a friend in transition needing a temporary home. Her motto: there’s always room for more—both in her house and in her heart.

In 1970 Gary was diagnosed with what was thought to be terminal non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Five years later he went into remission, and with the desire to help others facing the challenge of cancer, Joyce took a job in the newly opened Oncology unit at Mercy Hospital. In 1977 fate knocked again, this time in the form of an ad in the Northwest Shopper. Sister Eve Kavanagh was holding a meeting about a new type of program she hoped to bring to Des Moines called hospice care. Joyce and Gary attended the meeting, where Joyce realized once again that her experience could benefit others. She and Gary helped form the original Board of Directors for Hospice of Central Iowa, and Joyce saw patients on a volunteer basis while she continued in full-time oncology nursing. In 1978 she joined forces with a new oncologist in town, Dr. Tom Buroker. Working together for the next 12 years, Buroker and “Juice” (as he called her) developed a bond of mutual love and respect that has continued over the years. The Buroker-Juice team helped countless patients; after receiving her own cancer diagnosis in 2013, “Juice” had no doubt her old friend would give her the same thoughtful care she had witnessed him giving to so many others.

In 1990, Joyce left oncology behind to focus entirely on hospice care. For her, there was no greater privilege than attending at the bedside of the dying. She worked as a home hospice nurse for Hospice of Central Iowa, helped introduce inpatient hospice care to the region, became the first director of Kavanagh House (named after Sr. Kavanagh at Joyce’s urging), and helped found Mercy Hospice Johnston, where she served as director for a number of years. She was so passionate about end of life care and quality of life that she was later asked by Mercy Hospital to develop a Palliative Care program, another new concept for the area. Prior to retirement, Joyce moved to Unity Point Home Health, where she helped establish their Palliative Care program.
Joyce’s gifts of loving care extended beyond her patients, as she helped guide her own family members, friends and sometimes strangers through the dying process as well. It was not uncommon to hear healthy people tell her that when it was their time to depart this world, they wanted her to walk with them. Having sat at the bedside of so many people during their end-of-life journey, Joyce commented that she knew more people in heaven than she did on earth. It was a joke her “angels” in heaven surely appreciated.

Inspired to share the lessons she learned with other caregivers of the dying, Joyce teamed up with Sister Joyce Rupp to author the book May I Walk You Home. In 1994, after 32 years of marriage, Joyce lost her beloved Gary. After surviving the grief and heartbreak of losing a loved one, she again felt compelled to share her hard-won wisdom, and with Sister Joyce wrote Now That You Have Gone Home, a book to help people dealing with grief. When she learned of her own incurable cancer, Joyce decided to write a third book on her experience as the patient. The as-yet untitled book will be published in the spring of 2017.

She is left to be grieved by her three children, Joe (Ann Marie) of Lynchburg, VA; Mike (Carter) of Des Moines; and Julie (Mike) Lisac of Kansas City, MO. She was adored by her 9 grandchildren, Ruby, Moses, Lila and Anabel Hutchison; Griffin and Garrett Hutchison; and Emma, George and Margaret Lisac.
She is preceded in death by her husband, Gary; her parents; and her 4 brothers.
Family Visitation is scheduled Friday, May 20 from 4-7pm with services to follow. Mass of Christian Burial will be Saturday, May 21 at 10:30am. Both will be held at Holy Trinity Catholic Church.

Joyce lived a selfless life always concerned about the less fortunate. She was especially concerned about those who did not have the basic necessities. She asked that in lieu of flowers, non-perishable food items be collected to help fill the shelves of local food pantries. Collection containers will be available at the services. For those who would prefer to give a monetary donation, please send checks to either Children and Family Urban Movement or Connection Café, both in Des Moines.

Condolences may be expressed at:
www.HamiltonsFuneralHome.com

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