Joyce, Carol Ann beloved mother, wife, grandmother and great- grandmother, passed away Wednesday November 30, 2022, at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Carol was a trailblazing church administrator, minister, and national officer of the United Church of Christ, the first woman to be elected to a top national office for any mainline Protestant church. After stepping down from that role, she served as the pastor of Robbinsdale United Church of Christ in Minneapolis until retirement, then underwent two years of training to become a volunteer docent at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, creating and leading tours for school groups and the general public. Born June 29, 1941, Carol Ann Joyce was the youngest child of Madron Gershon and Myra Joyce; her older sister Louise Starr and brother Glenn Joyce predeceased her. She grew up in Shelbina, Missouri, and graduated from Central Methodist College (now Central Methodist University) in Fayette, Missouri, where she met her first husband, Wesley L. Brun. They attended Yale Divinity School and Eden Theological Seminary. After their marriage ended, Carol remained unmarried for the next twenty years, raising her sons. She joined the United Church of Christ and moved to White Plains, New York in 1974 to work in the national office in New York City. She became ordained in the UCC, and after years of service of increasing responsibility, she ran for office as the Secretary of the church in 1983 and won. She served two terms as Secretary, supervising the biannual General Synods, among many other responsibilities, a model for other women who followed her. In 1991 Carol stepped down as Secretary and became the pastor of Robbinsdale United Church of Christ in Minneapolis, serving until her retirement in 2004. There she met and married her second husband, Neal Luebke. The two of them were community pillars wherever they went, first at Robbinsdale UCC and later at Becketwood retirement community. After retirement, Carol indulged her love of art by training as a docent at the MIA, where she worked as a volunteer for more than a decade, making many friends among the other docents and museum staff. Carol was known for her intelligence and her compassion, her meticulous organization and her passion for fairness. She could be modest and self-deprecating, but had a wicked and irrepressible sense of humor. She was loved by those who knew her, and will be deeply missed. Carol is survived by her sons, Scott Brun (Tere) and Todd Brun (Cara King); her husband Neal Luebke; her step-children Erin Thompson (Byron Richard) and Dana Luebke (Robert Greenwood); her sister-in-law Anne Joyce; grandchildren Stephanie, Chandler, Wyatt, Ryan, Simone, and Isabel; and great-granddaughter Lucy.

Published on December 25, 2022