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URBANA – Joyce Laase Peacock, 74, of Urbana died of cancer at home on Oct. 25, 2008.
A memorial service is planned for Nov. 8 at 2 p.m. at Wesley United Methodist Church, Urbana.
Joyce was born in Hastings, Neb., on Nov. 19, 1933, the oldest daughter of Irma and Leroy Laase. Deeply connected to her family heritage, Joyce shares in a legacy of teaching and learning, strong Christian faith, and advocacy for peace, justice and the welfare of all people.
Joyce graduated with high distinction from the University of Nebraska in 1955 with a B.S. in Sociology and Education. She was initiated into Phi Beta Kappa and Mortar Board national honorary societies.
Joyce was executive director of the YWCA at the University of Kentucky in Lexington when she met her husband, Joseph Neal Peacock, minister to Berea College, Ky. They met
at a student YWCA-YMCA conference in Virginia. They were married in Lincoln, Neb., on Aug. 8, 1958. Together, they raised three children, Susan Carol Peacock (married to Stephen Robertson), Jean Marie Peacock (married to Peter Kulakosky) and Stephen Neal Peacock (married to Kate Seng). Joyce was the grandmother of Joseph Seng Peacock (born 1994), William Seng Peacock (born 1997, deceased) and Jose Francisco Seng Peacock (born 2000).
In 1971, the Peacock family spent eight months living in Nigeria while Joe was a visiting professor at the University of Lagos. The family also traveled to 12 countries in Africa. Joyce later wrote: "Living where people struggle with hunger and poverty made us view the world differently. Our priorities and lives were forever changed."
Joyce dedicated herself to the empowerment of women and the elimination of racism, serving as a leader in the YWCA locally, nationally and globally. She served on the National Board of Directors of the YWCA (USA) from 1975-1991. In 1989, she traveled to the Philippines as a YWCA Development Education Consultant with Gabriela, a Filipino women's organization, to focus on the empowerment of women in the face of poverty, militarization and injustice. In 1992, she accepted an appointment to the YWCA World Service Council.
Joyce valued cross-cultural relationships, coordinating host families for international students and nurturing abiding friendships with people from around the world. She remembered important occasions in people's lives with hand-written notes, sending hundreds of personal messages each year to remind people they were loved and cherished.
From 1974-1988, during the time the family lived in Lancaster, Pa., Joyce worked as a co-director of a nursery school, caseworker at the Cleft Lip and Palate Clinic, and as the director of Volunteer Services at Brethren Village retirement and nursing home. She co-authored "Cleft Lip and/or Palate: Behavioral Effects from Infancy to Adulthood" (1983), a book that shared with new parents the technique and temperament that Joyce learned caring for her own son.
Joyce was active in Church Women United for over 50 years, working ecumenically for unity in diversity and a world of peace and justice. In 1988 the organization honored Joyce as a "Valiant Woman" who lives the gospel message in her everyday life.
Joyce is survived by her husband; three children; two grandsons; her siblings, Paul Laase, Jane Becker, Sally Walker, and her Hungarian "sister," Sara Shepherd. She was predeceased by her sister, Nancy Bauer.
Memorials may be made to Wesley UMC Parish Nurse Program or the World Service Council/YWCA, 1015 18th St. NW, Suite 110, Washington, DC, 20036.
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