Joyce Nakkula

Obituary of Joyce Marie Nakkula Houghton Joyce Marie Nakkula, 70, a resident of Heritage Manor in Houghton, unexpectedly passed away at her home on Thursday, November 09, 2006. Joyce was preceded in death by her husband Arvid Nakkula. The two of them were longtime residents of Waasa Location in Hancock where they raised their family and enjoyed the pleasures of gardening, entertaining friends and family, and appreciating the beauty of country living. Joyce was known as a loving and supportive friend to a wide range of family and friends. She was born in Hancock in 1936 where she attended the Hancock public schools. Joyce worked as a waitress at various local restaurants, including the former Finlandia Restaurant and Joe's Chicken Basket in Hancock. Afterward she worked as a Housekeeper at Suomi College (now Finlandia University) and at Portage View Hospital, where she worked in housekeeping and in laundry. Over the past many years, Joyce was an active participant of the Heritage Center Bible Study Group, where she was a devout practitioner of her Christian faith. Joyce's faith was instrumental to surviving a number of health challenges including surgery for the removal of two abdominal aneurisms and various heart procedures. With her husband Arvid, Joyce served the Eagles Auxiliary for several years. To her many friends and family, Joyce was an inspiration through her constant smiles, unique sense of humor, and positive attitude even in the face of life's most difficult challenges. In addition to her husband Arvid Nakkula, Joyce was preceded in death by her parents, John and Bessie (Waisanen) Nuranen, and her brothers Fred, Michael, James, John, Calvin, and Paul Nuranen. Surviving are her four sons and their spouses: Michael and Caroline (Watts) of Boston, Massachusetts, Timothy and Tammy (LaRoux) of Hubbell, Gregory and Kathryn (Eriksen) of Kansas City, Kansas, and Shawn and Jennifer (Kommes) of Wassa Location. Also surviving are sisters Rose Laitinen of Ripley, Ruth Kangas of Hancock, Sarah Wilcox of Houghton, Gloria Geribec of Hancock, Sandy Ruscio of Calumet, and brothers David Nuranen of Hancock, and Robert Nuranen of Los Angeles, California. Joyce is survived by five grandchildren -- Nicole, Ashley, Becky, Lukas, and Sam -- one great grandchild, Ame'lie, and numerous nieces, nephews, and brother- and sister-in-laws. Funeral services will be held at the Memorial Chapel Funeral Home of Hancock at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, November 15th, with the Reverend Bucky Brown-Beach officiating. Visitation will be held at the Memorial Chapel Funeral Home of Hancock from 5 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, November 14th and on Wednesday from 12 noon until time of services. To view Joyce's obituary or to send a condolence to the family please visit www.memorialchapel.net. To send flowers to the family of Joyce Nakkula, please visit Tribute Store