Mary Ann Joyce, 86, of Tioga, North Dakota passed away on Tuesday, August 30, 2022 at Tioga Medical Center. Mary Ann (Balster) Joyce was born February 27, 1936, the daughter of Frank and Cecelia Balster of Jamestown, North Dakota. She had fond memories of growing up on the family farm with her twin brothers, Jim and John and her uncle, Tony. She often spoke of her horse, Smokie.

Mary Ann was baptized and confirmed at St. James Catholic Church in Jamestown. She attended the country school near her home through the eighth grade and graduated from St. John’s Academy in Jamestown with honors in 1954.

She attended the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, Minnesota graduating in 1958 with a teaching degree.

In March of 1958, she and her mom and dad drove to Tioga for her first teaching interview. She said that driving into Tioga, they weren’t overly impressed, but while visiting with then- Superintendent Frank Gurley and some of the townspeople at the local cafeteria, she decided Tioga would be an OK place to be. Myrtle and Floyd Theodorson and Myrtle and Emil Moratzka were very good ambassadors for the town of Tioga. Her first teaching contract was signed by her future father-in-law, S.J. Joyce, then- President of the Tioga School Board.

In 1960, she toured Europe for six weeks and in 1962 she attended the World’s Fair in Seattle. She also taught one year in Williston, North Dakota.

Mary Ann met her future husband, Daniel Joyce at Joyce’s Texaco. They would later marry on June 20, 1964 at St. Thomas Catholic Church in Tioga. Six children were born to them: Daniel Jr., Jane, Jeffrey, Kathryn, Thomas and Jerome. Mary Ann was very active in St. Thomas Catholic Church in Tioga. She enjoyed serving in various church committees throughout the years.

In 1977, Mary Ann resumed teaching for another twenty-three years. She described herself as a tough, but fair teacher, making sure each of her students had all the help they needed.

Survivors include her husband of 58 years Daniel; two daughters, Jane (Wayne) Peterson, Grand Forks, ND; and Kathryn Sorensen, Plymouth, MN; sons, Jeffrey, Jamestown, ND and Jerome (Kristie), Tioga, ND; three grandchildren, Kaylee, Ava, and Zakkary; sister-in-law, Kristi Balster, Jamestown, ND; brother-in-law, Michael (Joan) Joyce, Fargo, ND; and sister-in-law, Edith Ann Joyce, Tioga, ND.

She was preceded in death by her sons, Daniel and Thomas; her parents, Frank and Cecelia; her father and mother-in-law, Sylvester and Ruth Joyce; her brothers, James and John (Sheryl) Balster; brothers-in-law, John Joyce, and W. Thomas Joyce; and sisters-in-law, Patricia Koller and Mary Ellen Kirn.

Thank You