Joyce Ann Cress

Joyce Ann Cress, 74, finished her fight with ovarian cancer on Monday, July 16, 2018 surrounded by family and friends at her home.

Joyce Ann Cress was born April 22, 1944 in North Platte, Nebraska, the daughter of Duane Edward and Thelma Lucille (Eshleman) Jones.

She grew up in Aurora, Colorado and graduated from Aurora Central High School in 1962. In 1962, she was crowned honored queen of Job’s Daughters in Aurora, Colorado. She moved to Emporia in 1965 and later to Oregon in 1981 then returned back to Emporia in 1983.

She married Jimmie “Jim” Eldon Cress on June 20, 1965 in Aurora, Colorado. They enjoyed 53 years of marriage. She taught dental assistant classes at the Vo-Tech School. Jim and Joyce owned Cress Real Estate and Appraisal Service and worked side by side for many years.

She was a member of the First Christian Church and a member of the State and Local Board of Realtors. She was known for her practical jokes from fake spiders to dressing up like a bag lady and her famous chocolate covered cotton balls.

She was preceded in death by her mother, Thelma; her biological father, Duane Edward Jones; her father, William Chester Deaver.

She will be forever cherished by her husband; a son, Bill (Janu) Cress of Greenwood, Missouri; a daughter, Stacy Linn Wescott of Shawnee, Kansas; two sisters, Diane (Kurt) Kristensen of Reedsport, Oregon and Carol Fletcher of North Bend, Oregon; two brothers, Ralph Jones and Larry Platz of Emporia and four grandchildren, Jeneca and Nolan Cress of Greenwood, Missouri and Aubrey and Ashton Wescott of Shawnee, KS and many, many family and friends.

Funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m, Saturday, July 21, 2018 at the First Christian Church in Emporia. The family will receive friends Friday evening from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm at the church. Cremation will follow service and burial in Hill Crest Cemetery in Florence, Kansas at a later date. Memorial contributions may be made to Joyce Cress Memorial Fund to be designated later in care of Jones VanArsdale Funeral Home, P.O. Box 43, Lebo, KS 66856. Condolences may be expressed at vanarsdalefs.com.