Joy M. (Westercamp) Anderson

Joy Marybell (Westercamp) Anderson, age 91, passed away peacefully on August 24, 2026, at her home in Ankeny, Iowa.  Born into a generation that valued duty above all else, Joy dedicated her life to the relentless rhythms of farm, family, community, and church life.

The daughter of Fred and Helen (McCurdy) Westercamp, Joy came to the world as a Christmas gift on December 25, 1934, in Grinnell, Iowa.  She graduated from Grinnell High School, received a degree in Home Economics from Iowa State University in 1956, and worked for ISU Extension following college. 

While at ISU, Joy met Carroll Anderson, the love of her life, whom she married on June 23, 1957.  They started their teaching careers together in Gruver, Iowa, where she taught Home Economics and Language and Carroll taught Vocational Agriculture at Gruver High School.

She raised five children on the family farm in Kellogg, Iowa, and when the time came, she took care of her mother and Carroll’s parents as well.  She spent 35 years with Carroll and continued to honor him by maintaining and operating the rental properties they built together until her retirement in 2018.

Joy was a woman of few words, choosing to express her commitment through actions.  She would knit booties for newborn babies, help with functions at the Lutheran Church, play piano for Amboy Grange, bake cookies for her apartment tenants, and sing carols to homebound friends at Christmas time.

Her hands were rarely still—whether tending her peonies and ground cherries in the garden, managing the never-ending upkeep of her apartments, or ensuring there were always oatmeal-raisin cookies or apple cake in the cupboard.  She was a selfless person who cared not for worldly belongings.  Though petite, she was strong and spry and would work for hours, crouched on her heels on the floor or ground, in what her family termed as the “Westercamp squat”, weeding, cleaning, or even kneading bread, well into her 80s.  While she kept her inner world private and her emotions guarded, her enduring legacy is woven into the very community she tended for decades.

Joy is survived by her five children:  Scott Anderson, Shelly (Vance) Vollstedt, Michael Anderson, Mark (Lauri) Anderson, and Paul (Jelena Nikic) Anderson, who carry forward her lessons of resilience, independence, and hard work; her five grandchildren:  Tom Coverdale, Amelia Anderson, Flynn Vollstedt, Hugo Vollstedt, and Ian Anderson; her sister, Kathleen Oliver, and many wonderful nieces and nephews.  

She was preceded in death by her husband, Carroll Anderson; parents, Fred and Helen Westercamp; brothers:  Kenneth (Susan) Westercamp and Keith (Judy) Westercamp; as well as her great niece, Danielle Messick.

A visitation with the family will be held on Thursday, September 10, 2026, from 5 – 7 p.m. at the Wallace Family Funeral Home and Crematory in Newton.  A funeral Service, led by Pastor Kari Lee, will be held on Friday, September 11, 2026, at 10:30 a.m. at the funeral home.  Following the service there will be a light lunch.  Interment, for family only, will be at Newton Memorial Park Cemetery.  In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church in rural Sully.  Memorials can be left at the funeral home.

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