Joyce Florence Hartzell

Joyce Florence Hartzell, 70, of Moses Lake, passed away March 17, 2009, at Samaritan Hospital in Moses Lake.

She was born Aug. 17, 1938, in Fruita, Colo., to Loren and Florence Gates. She grew up in Ephrata after her family settled there. She met and married Howard M. Hartzell on June 5, 1955, while he was stationed at Larson Air Force Base in Moses Lake. This started her life as an Air Force wife. They moved to Alaska and all over the country, while having four children together.

She returned to Moses Lake in 1976, where she worked and retired from Carnation after 26 years.

Joyce loved the outdoors, a love she passed on to her children and grandchildren. Most vacations were spent traveling and camping all over the country. She will always be remembered as a loving person, who loved to cook and had a great sense of humor.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Howard M. Hartzell, her parents, Loren and Florence Gates, two brothers and one sister.

She is survived by her brothers, Ed, Roy, Claude and Ron, her sisters, June and Coleen, her children, Howard V. Hartzell, Mike Hartzell and wife Glenda, and Connie Raphael, all of Moses Lake, Vicki Cambern of Olympia, her grandchildren, Michael, Maranda, Cory, Kayla, Alex and Mark, and six great-grandchildren.

Our mother was a very strong person with a warm heart and a smile for everyone. She never ended a phone conversation or left a room without saying, “I love you.” We knew we were loved and so was she.

Per her request, graveside services will be held at Ephrata Cemetary on Monday at 1 p.m., followed by a gathering at the Ephrata Senior Center.