Gloria "Joyce" (Plunkett) Erard

On the cool fall day of October 13, 1928, Howard and Ollie Plunkett welcomed their third child. A tiny brown eyed little girl. They named her Gloria Joyce.

Gloria Joyce went on to attend the little red brick school house on Verona Road and later graduated from Marshall High school. During her youth, she enjoyed swimming with her friends and siblings in Bailey Park. Her earliest job was at the pharmacy soda fountain in Verona. She enjoyed making brown cow drinks for the local patrons which included some of her school teachers. She and her little brother Dick travelled on many adventures with the Brigham family as they procured artifacts for the Kingman Museum. The family enjoyed having them along to play with their two young children. After graduation, she acquired a job at Kellogg’s in Battle Creek. She enjoyed working on the lines especially with her good friend Dorothy. Dorothy soon introduced Gloria “Joyce” to a young man named Robert "Bob" Erard.

Bob and "Joyce," as most people called her, went on many canoeing adventures and baseball events in the area. They were united in marriage at the First Presbyterian Church in Battle Creek, Michigan on May 1, 1949. They settled into a very small home in the Wattles Park area. Through the years they worked to increase the size of their home using materials that came from the barracks at the old Fort Custer base. Beautiful trees and many flowers would also become part of the homestead landscape. Together they established Bob's Tree Farm. Their little tree farm soon became one of the favorite places for families to start the wonderful Christmas tradition of choosing and cutting their own Christmas tree.

The family began to grow, and the couple went on to welcome four children. Darleen (Rocky) Hunt, Rosemary (Chester) Staub, Robert P. Erard, Andrew (Jessica) Erard. They were very proud of the effort they put into keeping their children in one home and one school district. They were true supporters of the Harper Creek Community. Bob and Joyce were dedicated to the work of the Lord. They were active members of both the Battle Creek Friends Church and later the Family Altar Chapel church. They put together many Bible School programs as well as taught Sunday school for many years. Joyce especially enjoyed teaching the "Young Married" class at the Family Altar Chapel.

Her creative side was unending. She loved decorating cakes for weddings, funfairs and many other events. She greatly enjoyed her flannel graph stories and shared them many times over the years. In her fifties she took classes to become a ventriloquist. She obtained many unique characters including her famous puppet "Woody." Joyce entertained audiences with her newly acquired skills at churches, schools, retirement gatherings as well as entertained in parks when they went camping to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. They were snowbirds to the state of Texas for many years after Bob's retirement. Together they enjoyed serving local missions in that area and attending flea markets. Joyce was truly an avid shuffle board participant.

As the years passed the couple welcomed five grandchildren. Ted (Rachel) Hunt, Jeffrey (Emily Houldsworth, Matthew (Vanessa) Hunt, Mariah Erard and Coleton Erard. Later seven great grandchildren. Leland Hunt, Jackson Hunt, Ezra Hunt, Eva Hunt, Addison Hunt, Lincoln Hunt and Olivia Houldsworth. She especially found joy in attending sporting events for her grandchildren.

Bob and Joyce were married for sixty-three years before his passing in 2012. Joyce went to join him on December 15, 2021. They shared many wonderful years together and continue to share their forever home with their Lord and Savior. Surviving are all four of her children along with two of Gloria Joyce's sisters. Pat Treadwell and Nancy (Don) Shippell. She was preceded in death by her parents, and siblings Burley Plunkett, Richard Plunkett, and Juanita White.

Services have been entrusted to Kempf Family Funeral Homes, Marshall Chapel, 723 US Hwy 27 N, Marshall, MI 49068. Visitation will be held on Wednesday, December 29, 2021, from 11:00am until the time of the funeral service which begins at 12:00pm. Entombment will take place at Floral Lawn Memorial Gardens with Rev. Doug Plunkett officiating both services. If desired, memorial contributions may be given to Haven of Rest, 11 Green St, Battle Creek, MI 49014, https://pushpay.com/g/thehavenbc or Friends Church, 1305 Olive St, Battle Creek, MI 49014. Please visit https://www.kempffuneralhome.com to view the online obituary, sign the guest book, or leave messages for the family.