Joy McKillip

MCKILLIP, VINER, TOWNSLEY, NEWELL, HARDEN, WEIKERT, PETRICK

Posted By: Skipton
Date: 8/12/2013 at 23:27:59

Joy McKillip, 74, of Muscatine went from her earthly home to be with her Savior on Sunday, July 28, 2013.

Memorial Services will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, August 1, 2013, at Hillcrest Baptist Church. Pastor Bruce Martin will officiate the service. Pallbearers will be Scott Thomas Newell McKillip, Virgil D. Harden, Grant Harden, Michael Stanton, Brian McKillip and Corey McKillip. Honorary bearers Natalie Harden, Jessica Stanton, Jennifer McKillip, Bailee McKillip, Carlye McKillip, Lori Petrik, Janet Byrd, Heather Garza, and Matthew McKillip. Private burial will be held.

Visitation will be from 10:00 until 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, August 1, 2013, at the Church. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to the Calvary Church, Muscatine. The Ralph J. Wittich-Riley-Freers Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements. Online condolences: www.wittichfuneralhome.com.

Joy was born on April 1, 1939, in Muscatine County, the daughter of Milo and Alice Townsley Viner. Joy graduated from the Letts High School, Class of 1957, where she served as valedictorian with a 4.0 grade point average. She then attended the American Institute of Commerce in Davenport, participating in the secretarial program.

Joy married Joe D. Newell on December 1, 1957. Joe died on December 7, 1969. She later married Chester W. McKillip on March 4, 1977.

Joy was a church pianist/organist for 25 years in the Letts, Columbus Junction, and Muscatine areas. She was a member of Calvary Church in Muscatine, where she was active in the Lamplighters small group, the Monday morning Bible study group, and Women’s Fellowship events.

Joy was a legal assistant for the Allbee Law Office for 18 years. She was instrumental in founding the Muscatine County Legal Secretaries Association and served as Charter President for that organization.

Joy organized and opened a small business known as “Giftbaskets by Joy” with retail sales of baskets filled with various groupings of gifts assembled around a central theme. She gave presentations to local organizations and at community events. The business had a growing clientele including professional companies. Joy also presented an annual craft show at her home shop for several years.

Joy enjoyed spending time with her family, flower gardening, writing poetry, doing stitchery, and arts and crafts – especially making greeting cards.

Those family members left on earth to celebrate her memory include her husband, Chet; her daughter, Natalie Dee Newell McKillip Harden, and husband, Virgil, of Grand Island, Nebraska; her son, Scott Thomas Newell McKillip and wife, Jennifer, of Suwanee, Georgia; her step-daughter, Lori Ann McKillip Weikert Petrick of Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Joy’s grandchildren, Jessica Joy Harden Stanton and husband, Michael, of St. Paul, Nebraska, Grant Harden of Grand Island, Nebraska, Bailee McKillip, and Carlye McKillip, both of Suwanee, Georgia; her step-granddaughters, Janet Weikert Byrd and husband, Corey, of Keithsburg, Illinois, and Heather Weikert Garza of San Francisco, California; and five step-great-grandchildren.

Joy was preceded in death by an infant sister, Joyce; her husband, Joe; her parents; and her grandparents.