Joyce Stolberg, consecrated virgin, dies Feb. 3.

Joyce Ann Stolberg was born January 30, 1945 in Rochester, New York, where she grew up and attended Catholic schools. She died in Colorado Springs on February 3, 2025. Her parents, Carl and Edna (Shewman) preceded her in death. She is survived by her sister, Elsie (Gerald) Menz, and her nieces and nephews: Nancy Menz, Cindy (Alan) Bushey, Valerie Menz, Brian Menz (Kate), Carl Menz (Katherine) and godson, Eric Menz, as well as numerous great-nieces and nephews. Many dear friends, from school, work and church, also survive to mourn her passing.

From childhood, Joyce heard the call to a religious vocation. In 1963 she entered a missionary order, hoping to spend her life as a sister teaching in faraway lands. The chronic illnesses and health conditions which she suffered through most of her adult life closed that path, but Joyce continued actively serving in and for the church she loved as a lector, an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion for the sick and homebound, a catechist and as a sponsor for men and women entering the Catholic Church. As a sponsor, and catechist she wrote two books: There are No Dumb Questions (Mother’s House Publishing, 2006) and God Calls You by Name: A Journey Through the Rite of Christian Initiation (Amazon Digital, 2011).

Joyce began her professional career in Dallas as a lab assistant in cytology, the branch of biology concerned with the structure and function of plant and animal cells. She went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the State University of New York in 1981 and spent more than twenty years working in cancer screening laboratories. Her last professional posting was in Colorado Springs, where she served as the civilian cytotechnology supervisor at the United States Air Force Academy Hospital. Though her ill health caused Joyce to retire, she never quit working. In retirement she earned a Master of Arts in Counseling from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, while serving her parish, St. Mary’s Cathedral, and the Diocese of Colorado Springs.

Joyce continued to hear the call to a vowed religious life. In 2011, Joyce petitioned Bishop Michael Sheridan to be received into the ancient Order of Consecrated Virgins. She would live independently, not wearing a habit, or any outward sign of the pledge she made as a “bride of Christ.” Bishop Sheridan consecrated Joyce to a life of virginity lived in the world and for the world on October 30, 2011. The call was answered. Joyce’s dream was realized. She is forever with Christ, who called her to a life of constant prayer, and now has called her home.

Services will be held on Monday, February 17 at St. Mary’s Cathedral, 22 W. Kiowa St., in Colorado Springs. The rosary will begin at 9 AM. The Mass of Christian Burial will follow at 10. Mourners are invited to a lunch at the cathedral following the funeral. The Rite of Committal will take place at Memorial Gardens, 3825 Airport Road, at 2 PM.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Catholic Charities of Central Colorado, 228 N Cascade Avenue, Colorado Springs, 80903 in memory of Joyce Ann Stolberg.