Joyce Ferne Lamb Saunders was born in the middle of a ranch in Lyon County close to Allen, Kansas, on October 3, 1928. She gained her heavenly reward on Friday, September 4, 2026, at The Mapleton, in Eureka, at the age of 97 – 29 days short of her 98th birthday. She and her parents Riley Butterfield and Inez Alberta (Anderson) Lamb moved into Emporia when Joyce was 2 weeks old. She was an only child. The Lamb family moved to Eureka when Joyce started First grade at Random School in 1932. In school she was active in music, a Pepperette, Girl Reserves, Secretarial Club, and a class officer. She graduated from Eureka High School with honors in 1946. After high school Joyce went to work at JC Penney in Eureka, clerking and in the office. She was president of Phi Beta Psi, a social sorority and sang in Sweet Adeline’s. She later became a member of Eureka Music Club.
Joyce married Jim Saunders in 1948. To this union came two children, Joyce Leanne and James Charles. The births of her children coincided with the building of Jim’s AG (1963) and The Copper Kettle (1967). Joyce remained instrumental in the accounting and payroll of the family businesses, the store, restaurant, farm and personal throughout her marriage.
