by Cori Hilsgen
news@thenewsleaders.com
Members of the St. Joseph Y2K Lions Club appreciate their senior citizens and want them to be recognized for all the wonderful service deeds they do in the area.
That’s a big reason why Y2K club members recently chose Dick and Joyce Stock to be this year’s Senior Queen and King for the annual Fourth of July parade. They want them to be honored and treated like royalty.
Y2K president Kay Lemke said the Stocks were chosen for their long-time service to the area and because Dick is a lifetime resident of the area.
“When we accepted, I said I thought it was an honor reserved for folks who did a lot of service in the community,” Joyce Stock said. “Ann Reischl told me ‘that’s why we chose you.'”
The Stocks have been wintering in Florida for 21 years, so Joyce said they are not here during the winter to help volunteer and serve the area.
“We consider it a real honor,” Joyce said. “I think there are people who are much more active in the community, but we are both very honored to be asked.”
Even with being out-of-state during the winter, the Stocks have still managed to volunteer in many areas.
Dick, 83, volunteers for the Church of St. Joseph Catholic Church where he is a member of the Father Werner Council 7057 Knights of Columbus. With the Knights of Columbus, he helps with breakfasts, hamburger sales at the St. Joseph Meat Market and selling Tootsie Rolls to help benefit individuals with intellectual disabilities.
He also has been an usher for the church since he was 17 or 18 years old and helps hang church banners and do other jobs he is needed for.
“He is always willing to pitch in and ready to help when he is called,” Joyce said.
Joyce, 79, also volunteers with the Church of St. Joseph Catholic Church and just retired from being a Eucharistic minister and lector. She also sews “prayer blankets” that are given to parishioners, who receive pastoral visits when they are ill, and white baptismal blankets that are given to children when they are baptized.
Because of her sewing talents, she has helped mend many church linens and other items. In the past, she was active with cancer drives to collect donations, taught religious education classes for seven years and was very active with the All Saints Academy-St. Joseph Campus when it was known as the St. Joseph Lab School.
Both have also been active with the Fourth of July festival for many years. Dick has helped with the setting up and taking down of the stands since he was a teenager. In past years, he has also worked security for the concerts.
Joyce recently is turning over her role of coordinating lunches for the festival workers, for four days prior to July 4, which she has done for about 12 years.
She said many other people were wonderful volunteers, helping her with the lunches.
Janelle Loehlein has stepped up to take over her coordinating position.
“She will do a marvelous job,” Joyce said.
She said throughout their married years, Dick has only missed one year and Joyce has missed only three years, when their children were born, of helping volunteer with the annual festival.
Joyce is very actively involved in helping promote clothing for poor areas such as Haiti. She cuts out dresses and other garments and creates kits for other willing volunteer helpers to sew.
She recently recruited a couple of residents of Woodcrest of Country Manor apartments to help sew dresses and another one who doesn’t sew but is willing to press items. She encourages people to donate scraps of material and other useable items so they can be put to good use.
“It is very fulfilling and never seems like I have too much to do,” Joyce said. “Whenever I start to get a little busy, someone will call and offer to help. We welcome suggestions for garments for Haiti or other missions and are happy to share if there is a need to take them elsewhere.”
Dick and Joyce have been married for 60 years. They are both Cathedral High School graduates and got to know each other while participating in the Stearns County Rural Youth Group activities and at dances.
Dick worked at the paper mill in Sartell for 42 years. Joyce worked in management positions at a fabric shop and Herberger’s. She also supervised about 350 volunteers for the Catholic Charities Women’s Guild program.
Their six children and spouses include Ginny and Dale Anderson, Ann Marie Stock and David Campagna, Nancy Stock, Tom and Lori Stock, Rick and Inge Stock and Greg and Kaori Stock.
They have six grandchildren who include Leta, Jake and Joey Stock, Erik and Eli Anderson and Brianna Stock-Leach.
Their family will join them in celebrating their 60th anniversary in July. Unfortunately, it will not be over the Fourth of July so they can see them honored in the annual parade.
For 25 years the family has gathered for a week at a lake. This year they will travel from California, Canada, Florida, Hawaii and Virginia to gather at Lake Victoria by Alexandria.
Joyce said their children originally planned the vacation so they could all see each other. They didn’t want her to have to do the majority of the work by coming home, so they planned to meet at a lake and share in the chores.
Choosing a senior king and queen is an ongoing tradition for the Y2K Lions. Senior royalty are selected based on their service and volunteerism to the area.
The Y2K Lions is a part of District 5M-8 Lions International and actively supports many causes in the area.
The annual parade is scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday, July 4, in St. Joseph.
contributed photo
Dick and Joyce Stock were chosen to be this year’s St. Joseph Y2K Lions Senior King and Queen for the annual Fourth of July parade. Dick is a life-long resident of the area and both he and Joyce have been active volunteers around St. Joseph for many years.
Author: Cori Hilsgen
Hilsgen is a contributing reporter for the Newsleaders. The central Minnesota native is a wife, mother and grandmother. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Organizational Management and Communication from Concordia University – St. Paul, MN and enjoys learning about and sharing other people’s stories through the pages of the Newsleaders.