Joyce Marie (Daniel) Tilleman Hecht

Joyce Marie (Daniel) Tilleman Hecht

05/12/1932 – 03/27/2021

Joyce was born on May 12, 1932, in Havre, Montana to parents George and Myrtle (Quamme) Daniel. She was the fourth of seven children. Her entrepreneurial father was involved in farming, running dances, building and remodelling houses, and investing in commercial property during the great depression.

Joyce grew up on the family farm at Sandy Creek, northwest of L’aredo, Montana. These were the days of catching rattle snakes and cutting off their tails for rattles. Joyce attended a small country school, which at one time, only had three children in attendance. While attending high school in Havre, Montana, Joyce boarded with Dr. Lacey, and later with her sister, Gloria. During high school, Joyce worked in Buttrey’s Shoe Department, as a nurse’s aid, and in a movie theatre. After graduation, she worked as a telephone operator.

Joyce met Paul Edward Tilleman on a blind date. Two months later, on Christmas Eve, he proposed. They were married one month later on January 27, 1951, at 9am. Their first home was an 8’x27’ trailer home. Joyce spoke of sheets freezing to the wall in winter. They farmed with Paul’s dad and then Joyce’s dad before purchasing their own property. Paul became a crop duster pilot and moved the family all over the western states and down to Nicaragua. During this time, the couple were blessed with six beautiful children: Carla, Timothy, Samuel, Christine, Trudy and Glenn.

Unfortunately, the marriage ended and Joyce went into real estate and later farmed wheat and cattle by herself in Hobson, Montana. The four youngest children were still with her. Five years later, after having her crops destroyed by hail two years in a row, Joyce moved to Oregon with her youngest son, Glenn, and managed a Taco Time franchise for the following two years.

After moving from Portland to Jefferson, Oregon, Joyce returned to her real estate profession. She married Edward Hecht on April 10, 1982. Ed had two sons, Dale and Roger. Ed and Joyce later moved to Albany, Oregon. They enjoyed travelling, including visits to Trudy in Germany, Tina in Australia, Sam in Texas, and Glenn in Arizona.

Joyce’s favorite hobbies were cooking and sewing. She had a huge library of health, travel, and cookbooks. Right up until latter years, Joyce was regularly involved in baking for church funerals and other functions. Ed spent his evenings hand sewing designs on quilt squares and Joyce would sew them together to give the quilts as gifts to the children and grandchildren. After Ed’s death in 2012, Joyce enjoyed the company of her daughter-in-law, Beth, who helped with sewing quilts and doing Bible study together each week.

Joyce was the last of the George and Myrtle Daniel family. She is survived by her six children, two stepsons, fourteen grandchildren, twenty great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.

Joyce attended the Catholic Church and gave her children a Christian foundation, taking them to church and teaching them about Jesus. She left a legacy to her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Joyce realized that your family and faith in Jesus were more important than material things, as ultimately our faith determines our eternal destiny.

Joyce and Ed loved to eat out once a week at the Red Lobster restaurant. After Ed’s death, Joyce’s daughter, Carla, would take her to the hairdresser and then out to lunch every Friday. Joyce loved spending this time with Carla and having her hair fixed.

The family would like to thank mom’s hairdresser, who became her friend over the past 30 years. Also, thank you to the hospice nurses, all the caretakers, and in particularly her daughter, Carla, who helped Joyce fulfil her wish to stay at home until the end. She passed away peacefully at home on the 27th of March.

Joyce was always positive and had a joke or a good story to tell. She was strong and wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. Her greatest joy came from the birth of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

We give thanks to our God for giving us the best mom, grandma, and great-grandma. Mom has run her race and finished well. We will all miss you and look forward to resurrection day when we will meet again.

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