Joyce Lorraine Levander

Joyce Lorraine (McCosh) Levander, 92, of Central City, died peacefully on September 5, 2023 at Litzenberg Long Term Care Facility, where she had been since May. A service of remembrance will be held on Monday, September 11, 2023 at 11 a.m. at the United Methodist Church in Central City, followed by a luncheon in the Fellowship Hall. Joyce’s children and their families will also have a private Ceremony of Rembrance in November. Memorials are suggested to the family to be designated at a later date and condolences can be sent to the family at www.soltwagnerfuneral.com. Joyce was born on July 18th,1931 in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, to Theodore and Helen (Howe) McCosh. Joyce grew up in Gering, where she was a lifeguard at the Gering pool, Job’s Daughters Honored Queen and a drum majorette in the high school band before attending Wesleyan University in Lincoln, graduating with a degree in Education. It was during her time at Wesleyan that she met Richard ‘Dick’ Levander. They were married July 4th, 1953 in Gering. Joyce and Dick and their five children lived in several states over the years, mostly due to Dick’s work, first as a pharmaceutical salesman and later as an agricultural salesman. During these years Joyce worked as a pre-school teacher and began what would be a decades long career as a home products salesperson - beginning with Stanley Home Products and ending with many years as a Central City Avon Representative. Many of her grandchildren and great grandchildren helped Grandma Joyce deliver Avon catalogs to her regular customers. They returned to Nebraska and settled in Central City in the early ‘80s, where they eventually found their residence at Riverside Park on the Platte River. Over the years, Joyce shared her home with several beloved cats and dogs. One of the things she enjoyed most about their home at RiversidePark was being able to be close to all the wildlife near the river. A few years after her husband’s passing in 2004, Joyce moved back into town and lived at Bader Villas and eventually Cottonwood Estates. Joyce was a woman of great faith. She was baptized and confirmed in Christ. She was a member of Fairview United Methodist and Central City United Methodist. She enjoyed working with the Chime Choir and instituted a coupon clipping club for several years. Joyce is survived by her five children: Cathy (Levander) Enbody of Palm Springs, CA, Greg and Cheryl (Holcomb) Levander of Bismarck, North Dakota, Dr. Randall and Laura (Levander) Parkinson of Melbourne, Florida, Jane (Levander) O’Connell of Fredrick, Maryland, and Steve and Amy (Levander) Kyes, of Central City, Nebraska. Mrs. Levander’s extended family includes fifteen grandchlldren and nine great grandchildren. Her sister-in-law, Ruth McCosh, of Gering, Nebraska, and her brother-in-law, Ed Peeks, of Lincoln, Nebraska, conclude her survivors. Mrs. Levander was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, her siblings, Don McCosh and Eunice (McCosh) Peeks, niece Gretchen Hummel and sons-in-law Russell Luebbe and Steve Enbody.

Joyce Lorraine Levander

July 18, 1931 - September 5, 2023