Joyce Louise Macklin

Just a couple weeks past her 101^st birthday, Joyce Louise Ivens Macklin peacefully passed away from natural causes at St. Luke Extended Care in Ronan on August 7, 2023. Weighing just over 4 pounds, Joyce was born July 22, 1922, in Delafield, Wisconsin. She was the first child born to Anita Ivens (nee Lewis), a former teacher, and Kenneth Ivens, a farmer. Three years later she was joined in the family by her only sibling, Kathleen (Kay). Growing up on a dairy farm, Joyce enjoyed the advantages of living in southern Wisconsin: swimming in the numerous lakes and skiing in the winter.  After completing high school in Oconomowoc, Joyce worked as a secretary for several years in Waukesha. 

In 1944, Joyce’s parents encouraged her to take up an offer from relatives to stay with them in California where she planned to gain employment working for the Army Air Forces. Before leaving on a train from Milwaukee, a great-aunt sent her a letter filled with pieces of advice one of which was to not talk to any of the servicemen aboard the train because they “couldn’t be trusted.” Joyce did not follow this sage advice, instead she and a young lieutenant locked eyes and talked the entire trip. He was on furlough and heading to Sacramento to visit his parents. Long story short, they were engaged ten days later on Easter Sunday.  A letter home to her parents must have been a bit of a shock.  In the next three months, Joyce left her job in California and took a position as a secretary at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., allowing her to see her fiancé on the weekends. The two sweethearts were married August 3, 1944. Shortly after their wedding, her husband Theodore Macklin, Jr. (Ted) was shipped overseas to Europe. Joyce returned home to live with her parents and work until after the war was over, and she and her (now captain) husband, Ted, were reunited. On his return from Europe, Ted brought back two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star.

Ted was an American Saddlebred horse trainer.  Over the years they found themselves living in California, Missouri, Tennessee, Virginia, Texas, and Illinois. The couple became parents to five children, and Joyce was a devoted mother.  She also assisted Ted with the family business and was an active participant in the stable working alongside her husband.       

Ted often called Joyce “Joyous” because that nickname fit her personality.  She always maintained a positive outlook on life and enjoyed simple pleasures such as the antics of a bird, the playfulness of a squirrel, or the beauty of the sun shining on the mountains.  Her lovely smile could light up a room. These characteristics remained with her throughout her life, and her sweet nature gave her many good friends over the years.  

In 2006 after being best friends and sweethearts for 62 years, Ted passed away, and Joyce sold their property in Illinois in 2007 to move to Montana where she lived closer to her daughters. She resided for sixteen years in her home next to her daughter Cynthie Preston, and just recently she moved to St. Luke Extended Care when her health sharply declined, and her daughters could no longer safely care for her in her home. 

Joyce was an avid gardener. She loved watching and identifying birds.  She was a devoted Christian with memberships in the Presbyterian, Congregational, and Methodist churches over the years where she was active in Women’s groups, Bible study groups, Couples Clubs, and choir.  Joyce loved to read and always enjoyed singing and listening to music.  A keen dog lover, she raised and sold many litters of registered rough collie puppies. Her last canine companion, a seventeen-year-old poodle named Tootsie, preceded Joyce by dying only a few weeks before her devoted mistress. 

As a child of the Depression and a farmer’s daughter, Joyce knew how to stretch a dollar, prided herself on putting up food for the family, and created a warm and cozy home wherever the family lived.  She loved going to farm or estate auctions and got a big kick out of getting a great deal.   

Joyce was preceded in death by her husband Ted, her parents, Ken and Anita Ivens, her only sibling Kathleen Schopp, and her son, Kenneth Ivens Macklin (Kimmie) who died on the operating table when he was four. She joined her deceased family members on her sister’s birthday.

She is survived by her four living children: Cynthia (Jay) Preston of Charlo, MT, Tod (Jan) Macklin of Marengo, IL, Scott Macklin of Polson, MT, and Wendy (Joe) DosSantos of Noxon, MT. She is also survived by her grandchildren: Nathan (Dana) Cantlon with great-grandsons Isaac and Toby (Charlo); Zac (Jessica) Cantlon with Christian, Oakley, & Elise (Charlo); Matthew (Savannah) Preston (Texas), David Preston (Missoula), Ezra Preston (Dillon), and Shana (Christian) Kosinski with Iyanna and Devin (Massachusetts).  Joyce is also survived by her nieces and nephew, as well as many friends and relatives.