Joy Marcine (Dose) Adams

Joy Marcine Adams, 91, of Keokuk, passed away on Wednesday, November 10, 2021, at her home surrounded by her family.

Joy was born on January 26, 1930, in Keokuk, the daughter of Edward E. and Einez G. (Smallwood) Dose. She graduated from Keokuk Senior High and on September 6, 1953, she was united in marriage to Clarence E. Adams in Hernando, Mississippi. He preceded her in death on September 29, 2019. She attended the 1st Baptist Church and more recently attended Trinity United Methodist Church. She worked for Benner Tea Company, A and P Grocery, St. Louis Diecast and Johnson Schmidt.

Joy was dearly loved by her family and had an abundance of friends. She and Clarence (C.E.) loved to travel all over the country, visiting forty-nine states in their camper, RV or van, occasionally bringing along a grandchild. She loved to share stories of the memories they made through pictures and souvenirs from all the places they visited and cataloged them with great detail. She had a love for music and frequented many country music concerts, musicals and plays over the years, often with a grandchild or two. She loved to dance the jitter-bug which she would try to teach her family, without much success. Her favorite hobbies were doing crafts with her grandchildren, playing cards or board games (especially Scrabble), and belonging to many bridge clubs. She also played poker with her beloved friends on a regular basis. Joy loved cooking and entertaining and hosted countless family dinners and lunches, always including a dessert followed by chocolate! She was a talented seamstress and was deeply interested in genealogy, putting together beautiful photo albums of the family history. She was fun, welcoming, kind, honest and incredibly strong. Her fierce spirit kept her with her family through many obstacles. Her family was so blessed to have her for ninety-one years but are thankful that she is finally free from pain and is dancing again.

Joy is survived by her daughter Lisa Carel of Keokuk; her sister Patricia Marlette of Monmouth, Illinois; six grandchildren: Melanie Adams of Charlotte, North Carolina, Lauren Adams of Keokuk, Hilary Carel of Charleston, Iowa, Jason (Becky) Carel of Hamilton, Illinois, Breun (Jeremy) Smeltser of Wentzville, Missouri, and Jessie (Mikayla) Carel of Warsaw, Illinois; her granddaughter-in-law Theresa Adams of Winter Garden, Florida; sixteen great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.

Joy was preceded in death by her parents, her son Mark Adams, and her grandson Brian Adams.

 A graveside service will be held at 1 pm on Sunday, November 14, 2021, at the Montrose Cemetery in Montrose, Iowa. A luncheon celebrating her life will follow at The Montrose Sandbar, 19 Main Street, Montrose, Iowa.

Memorials may be directed to Trinity United Methodist Church or First Christian Church of Keokuk.

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