Joyce Genevieve Gerdman

With deep love and gratitude, we celebrate the incredible life of Joyce Genevieve Gerdman, who passed away peacefully on July 6, 2025, just nine days before her 95th birthday.

Born on July 15, 1930, in Ephraim, Wisconsin to Floyd and Laurel Knudson, Joyce was the first born of their four daughters. She was baptized, confirmed, and married at the Ephraim Moravian Church, which remained the spiritual center of her life.

Joyce attended grades 1-8 at the Ephraim Schoolhouse, graduated from Gibraltar High School in 1948, and studied at Door/Kewaunee Teachers College, where she met the love of her life, Glenn Gerdman. They were married on December 23, 1951, beginning a marriage deeply rooted in love and commitment.

She began her career as a teacher at Wildwood and Maple Grove Schools in Door County, later serving as a school nurse while the family lived in Waukesha, Wisconsin from 1959 to 1969. Joyce and Glenn returned to Ephraim in 1969, purchasing and running the Evergreen Beach Hotel, originally owned by her parents.

Joyce was a lifelong and devoted member of the Ephraim Moravian Church, where she served as an Elder, President of the Western District, President of the Women’s Fellowship, and a delegate to Synod on several occasions.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Joyce played a vital role in the cultural and civic life of Ephraim. She volunteered with AFS and the Sons of Norway, and served on several Village of Ephraim committees, including the Plan Committee, Historical Preservation Committee, and the Ephraim Business Council Board of Directors. She was a proud teacher of Norwegian dancing and singing for the Fyr Bal Festival, and was honored as Fyr Bal Chieftain in 1993.

Joyce and Glenn shared a love of travel, journeying to Germany, Brazil, China, Australia, Norway, Canada, France, Mexico, the Caribbean, and nearly every U.S. state, including Hawaii and Alaska. They were avid skiers, continuing to ski together until they were 80.

Joyce loved to cook and often expressed her love through baking, especially her famous chocolate chip cookies, pies, banana bread, and Moravian Sugar Cake. Her legacy lives on thru her loving family and in the many lives she touched during her remarkable life.

Joyce is preceded in death by her parents, and sisters, Evelyn Albrecht, Grace Vernon and Elaine Knudson.

She is survived by her loving husband of 73 years, Glenn Gerdman; daughters, Diane (Larry) Jacobson and Shelley (John) Cox; five grandchildren, Britta Hansen, Laurel (Chris) Janisse, Elaine (Jacob) Bill, Steven (Dagny) Cox, and Karin (Brian) Tourmo; and eleven great-grandchildren, Jens, Jovi and Jace Hansen, Fynn and Henry Bill, Michael, Brody, Jaxson and Grayson Tourmo, Kyla Cox, and Daniel Janisse.

The family extends heartfelt thanks to Door County first responders, Door County Medical Center and Aurora BayCare Medical Center in Green Bay for their compassionate care.

Joyce’s celebration of life will be held on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, at 11:00 a.m.—what would have been her 95th birthday—at Ephraim Moravian Church, with a light lunch to follow.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Ephraim Moravian Church.

Casperson Funeral Home is assisting the Gerdman family. Expressions of sympathy, memories, and photos of Joyce may be shared with her family through her tribute page at www.CaspersonFuneralHome.com.

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