Joyce M. Vandemore, 92, a resident of Prairie Place Senior Living in Kewanee, passed away on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, at OSF St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria.

She was born on May 19, 1934, in Aurora, Ill., the daughter of Leo and Kathryn (Frieders) Swickert. She married David M. “Dave” Vandemore on Sept. 6, 1958, in Kewanee; and he preceded her in death on Sept. 20, 2012. Survivors include her daughters, Barbara Lemanski (William Shadden) and Rebecca (Robert) Conner, both of Kewanee; her sister, Linda Wilkins of Donnellson, Iowa; four step-grandchildren, Sarah (T. J.) Riley, Aaron (Jennifer) Conner, Joe (Stef) Conner and Cole Conner (Alexis Cruz); several great grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews, including her goddaughter, Lynn Gibson, of Donnellson, Iowa. She was also preceded in death by her parents, sister, Shirley Weber, and brothers-in-law, Judd Weber and Doug Wilkins.

Joyce graduated from Marmion High School in Aurora. She started her career at Kroehler Furniture in Aurora. She moved to Kewanee in 1954 and worked for Mail-O-Graph for several years. She also did secretarial work from home for Violet Parsons of The Pilot Club. After that, she worked for nearly 20 years at Kroger’s. The remainder of her career was spent working for Wayne and Gigi Maxwell, helping them with property management and the Tenney Bowl. She was a member of Saint John Paul II Parish in Kewanee.

Joyce was an enthusiastic bowler from the age of 16 to 82 and bowled in various leagues, first in Aurora, then in Kewanee. She was a member of the Women’s International Bowling Congress and was inducted into the Kewanee Women’s Bowling Association Hall of Fame in 1995. She also served as secretary of the local bowling league.

Among the things she enjoyed was travelling the U.S. with her husband, reading, watching the Hallmark Channel and police reality shows. She was an avid fan of the Chicago Cubs, Chicago Bears, and the Indiana Fever. She was passionate about animals and loved her grand dogs dearly.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 1 p.m., Friday, Oct. 16 at Saint John Paul II Parish in Kewanee. Celebrant will be Fr. Narcis Katambe. A visitation will be held from 5-7 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 15 at Rux Funeral Home in Kewanee with recitation of the rosary at 4:30 p.m. The burial will be in Mt. Olivet Cemetery. The family asks that you wear your favorite sports apparel to the services.

Memorials may be directed to Friends of the Animals or to Big Tom’s Community Cats.

Joyce lived a full and beautiful life. Though her passing on to Heaven leaves a huge hole in our hearts, we know it is not “goodbye” …it’s “see you later.” We love you and feel so blessed that we were the ones who got to call you “Mom.”