Joyce Pelzel

Joyce Marie Pelzel, age 93, Browns Valley, MN, passed away on Saturday, April 8, 2023, at the Browns Valley Health Center.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Friday, April 14, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. at St. Anthony Catholic Church in Browns Valley. Visitation will be one hour prior to the services. Father John Paul Knopik will celebrate the Mass.

Inurnment will be at Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Browns Valley.  Honorary urn bearers will be her granddaughters, Brandy Pelzel, Becky Hamm, Katrina Pelzel-Lehman, and Alysia Patterson.  Active urn bearers will be her grandsons, Bill, Bob, and Andrew Pelzel; Tony and Vince Serocki; Wade Bosley; and Kurt Pfau.

Joyce was born February 18, 1930, at Graceville, MN, the oldest child of Loretta (Haanen) and Lawrence Anderson.  She attended country schools and graduated from Beardsley High School in 1948.  During her childhood, she enjoyed riding horses with her cousins who lived nearby.

Joyce was united in marriage to Milfred Pelzel on July 17, 1948, at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Beardsley.  They raised four children – Kathi, Larry, Rosemary, and John – on a farm in Becker Township near Browns Valley and moved into town when they retired.  Joyce and Milfred enjoyed many road trips around the United States and a few bus tours when they retired.

Joyce had an eye for fashion and was more than a seamstress as she made her own dresses as a teenager, as well as several wedding dresses and bridesmaid dresses. She did alterations for many!  Later in life, she sold items at craft fairs. Joyce was employed at the Browns Valley Liquor Store and Ike's Chicken Shack.  Friends and family often stopped by for coffee many afternoons while living in town.  Joyce loved gardening with many indoor and outdoor plants.  She even had a shelf full of houseplants while living in the nursing home the last few years.  She spent the last five years living at the Browns Valley Health Center, where she was well taken care of, and could easily sneak away to Kathi's for coffee with her sisters or out to the farm to see the crops and cattle.

Joyce had been a member of St. Anthony's Catholic Church and Ladies Guild.  She also was involved in the Historical Society, Nursing Home board, a neighborhood birthday club in Easter Township, and Red Hats Society.

Joyce is survived by her children, Kathleen (Dennis) Serocki of Browns Valley, Lawrence (Diane) Pelzel of Browns Valley, Rosemary (Doug) Pfau of Rugby, ND, and John (Kalena) Pelzel of Webster, SD; 11 grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren; four great-great-grandchildren; two great-great-great-grandchildren; and two sisters, Jean Kuschel of Browns Valley, and Sharon (Wayne) Randall of Appleton, MN.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Milfred; infant sister, Shirley Anderson; brother, Ronald (Sharon) Anderson; brothers-in-law, Orville Kuschel and Leonard Pelzel; and sister-in-law, Adeline (Les) Nustad.