November 16, 1929 – March 26, 2024
Joyce Nelson Crosby died peacefully with family at Horizon House in Seattle on March 26, 2024. Lively to the end, she managed progressive dementia for 10+ years and left us with a chuckle and one foot always tapping to keep the rhythm of the music.
Joyce was born 11/16/29 in Madelia, MN to Lavina and Trafford Nelson, a first gen Norwegian. Her younger brother Roger Nelson of Madelia passed the previous year on the same day.
Joyce graduated from Macalester College in St. Paul, MN in 1951 majoring in Spanish. She began her life-long world travel with a college quarter spent in Peru. After college she joined the U.S. Foreign Service as a secretary stationed in Frankfurt, Germany. There she forged life-long friendships and met her future husband, James Crosby, also stationed in Frankfurt.
Joyce and Jim married March 5, 1955, in Madelia after a two-day engagement. They left for Seattle; Joyce had never seen the Pacific Ocean nor met his parents. The joke is, as they were leaving Madelia, Joyce’s father turned to her mother and said, “what did you say his name was?!” Jim and Joyce made a home on Mercer Island until 1997 when they moved to downtown Seattle.
James Crosby’s, the retail gift store on Mercer Island, opened in the summer of 1955. Joyce did accounting and administrative tasks for the business while the children were growing up.
Joyce went to work at Seattle University around 1973 and became the Executive Assistant to the President. An accomplished organizer, executive secretary, and event planner—she relished this role until she retired in 1991, while making treasured friends in the SU community.
She joined the East Shore Unitarian Church in Bellevue in 1965 and remained a stalwart member, singing alto in the choir for decades. She was an accomplished pianist. And Joyce never met a dog she didn’t love!
Joyce was predeceased by Jim. She is survived by her son Matt Crosby (Lisa) and grandchildren Cooper Crosby, Molly Crosby, and Sam Crosby; and by daughter Catherine McConnell (Barry) and grandchildren Claire McConnell and Julie McConnell.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider a donation in Joyce’s name to the Sullivan Leadership Scholarship Endowment at Seattle University: https://www.seattleu.edu/giving/make-a-gift or to East Shore Unitarian Church at https://esuc.org/give.
