Joyce Kimes

Joyce DeLee (Stitt) Kimes, 91, was called to her heavenly home on Friday, August 22, 2025. She was born on April 28, 1934, in Fairmount, Indiana, to the late Altus and Thelma (Retz) Stitt.

Joyce graduated from Fairmount High School in 1952 and, that same year, married her high school sweetheart and the love of her life, Charles Leonard Kimes, on May 17, 1952. They shared 68 wonderful years together before Leonard preceded her in death on April 1, 2021.

Joyce worked as a secretary at Farm Credit Services, retiring in 1996. She became a member of Fairmount Friends Meeting in 2023, after many decades of service at Little Ridge Friends Meeting/Liberty Friends Meeting, where she was the pianist for more than 60 years. Joyce began playing the piano at age 5, and she played with a unique style all her own-swinging her leg to the rhythm. The faster the music, the faster the leg swung!

She enjoyed sewing, knitting, and especially crocheting. During the pandemic, she set out to use up her yarn by making afghans. Instead, she found herself buying more whenever it was on sale. Over time, Joyce made around 150 afghans. Family, friends, visitors, and even repairmen never left her home without one. She also loved working jigsaw puzzles with her family and riding her golf cart around Fairmount. One of her great joys was drinking cherry Coke-with 10 squirts of cherry syrup, just the way she liked it. Joyce also enjoyed watching The Andy Griffith Show and Dr. David Jeremiah.

In recent years, Joyce moved to Vita of Marion Memory Care, where she made many new friends among both residents and staff.

Above all, Joyce was a woman of deep faith and a devoted prayer warrior. She read her Bible and wrote in her diary every day. She cherished her family, who often recall her reading the Sunday comics aloud in the car on the way to lunch after church. Her infectious smile and bubbly personality brightened every room she entered, and her light will be dearly missed.

She is survived by her daughters: Bonnie (Tim) Small, Lori (Michael) LaShure, and Lynell (Dale) Coverdale; her brother, Harvey "Buddy" (Sandy) Stitt; her sister, Virginia (Larry) Floyd; 9 grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren; and 1 great-great-grandchild.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Leonard; her daughter, Kathleen (Kimes) Smith; son-in-law, Steven Smith; great-grandson, Landon Dunham; sister, Julia (Stitt) Lutz; and brother, Robert Stitt.

Arrangements have been entrusted to the Fairmount Chapel of Armes-Hunt Life Celebration Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 415 South Main Street, Fairmount, Indiana. Visitation will be held on Wednesday, August 27, 2025, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., followed by a funeral service at 2:00 p.m. with Pastor Brock Meyer officiating. Burial will follow at Park Cemetery, Fairmount.

Memorial contributions may be made to Fairmount Friends Meeting, 124 W. First Street, Fairmount, IN 46928.

Memories and online condolences may be shared at www.armeshuntfuneralhome.com