Joyce Fleck

Joyce Fleck, dear wife, mother, grandma, sister, aunt, and former business owner, passed away peacefully on July 8, 2025, at the age of 84. Born in Chicago, Illinois, September 13, 1940, Joyce took on the world with a contagious sense of humor and a spirit that drew people in.

Throughout her life, Joyce's roots spread across various states including California, Michigan, and Illinois, but her heart found its true home in Texas. She embraced the warm summers, the beautiful pastures, and the friendly people of Texas. She spent the last 42 years on their 2-acre property proudly displaying an old worn-out bumper sticker that said, "I wasn't born in Texas, but I got here as fast as I could!"

Joyce was not merely a local business owner; she was a vibrant soul who brought life to her carpet store, which she ran with her husband, Jack, for 21 years. Beyond her business, she was deeply involved in the Tawakoni-Quinlan community, contributing time and energy to the Chamber of Commerce, American Legion, and local food bank. Joyce volunteered hundreds of hours when her children were in elementary school dedicating herself to be a catalyst for positive change by serving as President of the PTA, spearheading new lunch programs for the school, and organizing school fundraisers that helped so many.

Joyce had a soft spot for her favorite pets throughout the years, particularly her cats Muffin, Mugs and Wheresa, and her dogs Sam, Big Boy, and Skip. She also cherished her cows, ducks, goats, and chickens. Her hands were never idle, and two of her favorite things that brought her happiness were tending to her beloved moon plants and growing her own tomatoes. Joyce could not stand store-bought tomatoes and was always on the hunt for a good home-grown tomato. She also had a particular fondness for White Castle hamburgers; she and the family would eagerly search for the restaurants any time they travelled up north. A perfect piece of pie, a good Italian dinner, tacos with all the fixin's, soup burgers, a simple baked potato, a cream cheese danish, the laugh of one of the grandkids, a surprise visit from family, a card in the mail...the small pleasures in life were not lost on her.

Her infectious sense of humor made her the life of the party-quick with a joke or witty comment, always leaving a smile or chuckle in her wake. One of Joyce's fond childhood memories was when she and her mother would sneak out onto the roof during hot Chicago nights for rooftop picnics. As an adult, a particularly memorable escapade involved her getting stuck on a snowy rooftop in Michigan trying to secure the Christmas decorations, leading to a comical rescue by the fire department-an anecdote that always brought laughter to everyone.

Joyce had a love for technology, always keen to learn something new on her computer. She spent countless hours learning and exploring. She loved her computer and all of the amazing things she could do with it. When computers first started becoming available in the early 1990's, she wanted to know everything about them, wanted to buy one and learned how to do everything. Later, this led her to embrace the smart phone and tablets which allowed her family to text her and share pictures with her. Joyce also enjoyed listening to music; she loved the Beach Boys, the Carpenters Christmas albums, and music from the 50's and the 80's. Her daughter and granddaughter will never forget going to her house one day and upon arriving, they could hear Blondie's song "Call Me" blasting loudly....Grandma was just vacuuming and doing chores....they still laugh when they think about it because at the time it seemed out of character for a 77-year old grandma to be rockin' out, but this truly is an illustration of her remaining young at heart.

Joyce Fleck's legacy is perseverance, toughness, and an unyielding spirit to overcome adversity. Her memory will hopefully inspire others to carry their crosses quietly and trust that God will lift them up and take care of them. In the last months of her life, Joyce made a very special connection to an amazing young lady, Autumn, who she instantly clicked with, and they became fast friends. This relationship was a great gift, blessing, and comfort to Joyce and her family during some difficult times. Joyce's animated spirit will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved her.

Joyce embraced her Catholic faith and relied on prayers to get her through. She loved Jesus and her favorite saints were St. Anthony, St. Therese (The Little Flower), and St. Bernadette. She was always asking for St. Anthony's intercession to help her find lost things...he never let her down. She said that when she gets to heaven, she was going to find him and thank him for always helping her.

She is survived by her husband, Jack Fleck; her children: Lora Lehew (Scott), Jeff Fleck (Denisa), and Tandi Fleck; her grandchildren: Jaid Lehew, Zoe Lehew, Chase Fleck (Aimee), Dennis Fleck (Makenna), Georgia Fleck, Jessica Sullivan (Joey), Bettye Adams, Christell Brotherton (Hunter), and Ashley Fleck; her great-grandchildren: Katie, Brayden, Ryleigh, Levi, Finn, Willow, Valkyrie, Magnolia, Matthew, Callista, Mason, Elailah, Noah, Johcee, Gabriel, and Gracelynn; her brothers and sisters: Michael Sminchak Jr., Illinois, Virginia (Larry) Kopplin, Wisconsin, Gary (Terry) Sminchak, Wisconsin, Pam (Dennis) Losey, Wisconsin; her step-brother: Harold Walker, Wisconsin; her brother-in-law: Rick Applewhite, Wisconsin; her nieces: Michelle, Kim, Jessica, Andi, and Leah; and her nephews: Andrew and Dennis.

Joyce was preceded in death by: her son Mark Fleck, her mother Emily Hoffman, her father Michael Sminchak, her granddaughter Jennifer Jimmerson, her granddaughter Teresa Fleck, her sister Kathy Applewhite, her sister-in-law Trudy Sminchak, her sister-in-law Alicia Walker, her stepbrother James Walker, and her nephew Joe Kopplin.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations to the Companions of St. Anthony or the North Texas Food Bank, both of these causes were close to Joyce's heart. Contributions can be made to the following websites:

The ministry of The Companions of St. Anthony

https://www.companionsofstanthony.org/

https://secured.companionsofstanthony.org/donation/

The North Texas Food Bank - Tribute Giving

https://ntfb.org/

https://give.ntfb.org/site/Donation2;jsessionid=00000000.app20113c?4640.donation=form1&df_id=4640&mfc_pref=T&NONCE_TOKEN=9DE94AE25AE84795A1424DCDEDCE8E2F&_ga=2.149231670.1492339933.1721923976-427030185.1720030670

A funeral Mass will be held on Monday, August 11, 2025, at 11:00am at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Mission, located at 1579 E. Quinlan Pkwy, Quinlan, Texas 75474.

♥"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." Matthew 5:4♥

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