Joyce Marjorie Decker

EDINBORO — Joyce Margaret Lawson Dugan Decker, 84, of 100 Walker Drive, Edinboro, and a lifelong resident of the Edinboro area, died Monday, May 25, 2009, at Millcreek Manor after an extended illness.

Born in Warren on Sept. 1, 1924, she was a daughter of the late Joseph and Violet Baxter Lawson.

Over the years, Joyce worked primarily as a secretary at various employers including G.G. Green in Warren, and Snap-Tite in Union City, where she retired in 1973. She also, along with her first husband, Joseph Dugan, owned and operated Dugan’s Custom Meat Cutting in Waterford for many years.

Joyce lived a full life and especially cherished time spent with her family. She enjoyed reading, was a member of the Edinboro Book Club, and she even took library science classes at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and was a former librarian at the Waterford Public Library. She was a member of First United Presbyterian Church of Edinboro. Her adventuresome spirit lead her to earn a private pilot’s license, She enjoyed cooking and she loved animals, especially her golden retriever, Elliott.

Preceding her in death was her first husband, Joseph Dugan; and her son, the Rev. Brent Dugan.

She is survived by her daughter, Brenda Joyce Petrick Dugan of Cambridge Springs; three grandchildren, Brent Petrick and Julie of Cambridge Springs, Chad Petrick and his wife, Christina, of Wimauma, Fla., and Natalie Miller and her husband, Eddie, of Edinboro; two great-grandchildren, Ciara Petrick and Brayden Miller; three siblings, Myrtle Wallin and her husband, Gerald, William Lawson and his wife, Margaret, and Alice Rapp and her husband, Jim, all of Warren; also, many nieces, nephews and cousins. Friends may call at Van Matre Family Funeral Home of Edinboro, 306 Erie St., on Saturday from 1 p.m. until time of the memorial service at 3 p.m. Officiating will be the Rev. Jean Henderson, a close family friend from Pittsburgh.