Joyce Louise (Locke) Ryen

Joyce left this earth peacefully, surrounded by her family, on November 3rd, 2023, after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

Joyce was born in Townsend, MT on April 27th, 1946, to Wanda (Kudzia) Locke and Lester Locke of Norris, MT. She grew up in Norris, MT and had many happy memories of riding her favorite horses, Black Bronc and Cream Puff. Joyce also loved growing up with both sets of grandparents in Norris. When she was 11, Joyce’s father Lester passed away, and Wanda and Joyce moved to Bozeman to find a new start.

Joyce attended Bozeman Junior High and Bozeman Senior High, graduating in 1964. She then attended secretarial school in Spokane, WA. She worked for many companies during her professional life including the Bozeman Downtowner Mall, Taylor Construction, and the Plant & Soil Science department at MSU.

While working at Taylor Construction, she met her husband, Wayne Ryen. The two were united in marriage in 1975 at Hope Lutheran Church in Bozeman, MT. Joyce and Wayne made their home in Bozeman, MT and raised three children together.

Joyce had a gift for art and music. She learned to play the piano and accordion at a young age and she continued to play into her later years. Joyce passed the gift and joy of music on to her children as well. She started her own ceramics studio in her basement in the 1980’s and taught her students how to paint and fire their own pottery. Joyce also loved to sew, quilt, and craft, and she often had aspirations to become a home economics teacher in her youth. She continued to sew and embroider her entire life. Joyce also loved to research her family genealogy and has binders full of research that she compiled.

Joyce was a very friendly and outgoing person, always striking up a conversation with people that she would come in contact with. She had many near and dear friends that she kept close to throughout her lifetime. Some of her close friends include Mary Kay West, Peggy Humphrey, Fritzi Redgrave, Cheryl Moore-Gough, Mary Ramsey, Carla Newkirk, Judy Fish, and Laura Dalton. Many of these friendships are over 50 years old. Joyce was known for being a true and faithful friend, never afraid to speak up for her friends and family. Her disease may have made her drift away from her friendships in recent years but know that she loved all of you and your connections meant a lot to her.

Joyce is survived by her husband of 48 years, Wayne Ryen (Bozeman, MT); her three cherished children, Brittney Russell (Sacramento, CA), Melissa (Michael) Knell (Bismarck, ND), and Travis Ryen (Bozeman, MT), and her stepsister, Susan Taylor (Phoenix, AZ). Her grandchildren include Nikki Arbaugh, Blake Hernandez, Michael Onodera, Courtney Madeiros, Dylan Knell, and Ryan Knell; whom she all loved dearly. She also had seven great-grandchildren, two great-great grandchildren, many cousins, and friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Wanda Grauman and Lester Locke, and her grandparents Hazel & Lewis Locke and William & Helena Kudzia. She also lost her very dear friend, Bonnie Christie, in a car accident many years ago.

A Visitation will be held Thursday, November 9th from 6-8PM with a Funeral Service at 11AM on Friday, November 10th at Dahl Funeral & Cremation Service in Bozeman.

Burial will be at Red Bluff Cemetery in Norris, MT. She will be buried with her mother’s ashes, alongside her dearest family members, including her father, uncle, and paternal grandparents.

In lieu of flowers, she would wish donations to go to the Heart of the Valley Animal Shelter.