Joyce Voleta Kimberling

Joyce Voleta Kimberling died Monday July 23 after several years of declining health. She was 87. Joyce was born in 1931 in Springtown, Arkansas, the daughter of James Volney and Irma Leslie Wasson. She attended John Brown University where she studied radio broadcasting. While working in the theater box office at the University of Arkansas, she met a young engineering major who, while having no intention of buying a ticket, made frequent visits to her ticket window. Joyce married that engineer, Charles Lindbergh Kimberling, in 1951. Joyce loved music, playing piano at her hometown church at the age of 12. She sang in the church choir and loved singing duets with her daughter. She volunteered extensively and leveraged her training in radio broadcasting to record books for the blind. As part of responsibilities associated with Charles’s role as president of the United States Council for International Engineering Practice and the National Council of Examining Engineers and Surveyors, Joyce hosted events for engineering spouses from across the globe. They also travelled extensively including two pilgrimages to Oberammergau. Joyce leaves a legacy of kindness and grace. She was a woman quietly devoted to her husband, family and friends. A woman who believed in the better angels in all of us. Joyce is preceded in death by her husband of 66 years, Charles L. Kimberling, her son, Vol Kimberling, and a daughter, Gail Kimberling. She is survived by her daughter Vicki (Sarah), honorary daughter Debbie LeMaster, and cousins Rosemary Reagan and John Wasson. The family would also like to acknowledge the many home health caregivers who enabled Joyce to continue to live in her own home until her death. Their devotion to her wellbeing made all the difference in the last years of her life. There will be a graveside service in Springtown Cemetery, Springtown, Arkansas at 3:00 p.m., Sunday, August 5th, the family will meet at Wasson Funeral Home at 2:30 p.m. and proceed to the cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully requests donations be made to Restore Hope Ministries of Tulsa, Oklahoma, whose mission is hunger reduction, homeless prevention, and helping people return to the workforce.

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Joyce Voleta Kimberling

May 18, 1931 - July 23, 2018