Joyce A. Harzheim

Joyce A. Harzheim passed away peacefully in her home surrounded by her loving family on Friday, January 27, four days after her 82nd birthday. Serendipitously, she left us on the same day as her father Firpo. Joyce was a planner and claimed she was her father’s favorite, but her children wished she hadn’t went to such great lengths to prove she was right one last time.  

Mass of Christian burial will be at 11:00 AM on Thursday at the Shrine of the Queen of Holy Rosary in La Salle, with Father Tom Otto, who visited her often during her illness and brought great comfort, officiating. Burial will be in Peru City Cemetery. Visitation will be at Hurst Funeral Home in La Salle on Wednesday from 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM. Additional visitation will be in the church on Thursday from 10:00 AM until the time of service. 

Joyce, the sixth and last daughter of Lindo “Firpo” & Alvina (Heitmann) Bernardi, was born on January 23, 1941 in La Salle. She married Thomas G. Harzheim at Holy Rosary Church in LaSalle on October 30, 1970. 

Joyce had two careers, both devoted to bringing happiness to others through service. In the first half of her career, she was the owner and operator of the Vogue Beauty Salon in Peru, Illinois. Styling during a time when a permanent was anything but that, she often made dinner for her family with hands cracked and bleeding from the harsh chemicals she worked with daily. Later, she and her husband owned Tom’s Church Street Tap in Peru, where she served as cook and business manager. She was proud to tell people she never received a score lower than 100 from the health department and, contrary to a rare few customer’s opinions, never cooked a steak incorrectly.  She and Tom enjoyed retirement and made friends in Panama City Beach, Florida, where they wintered until recently. 

Following the example set by her parents, Joyce loved her family, both immediate and extended, fiercely, and would help anyone in need. She enjoyed crossword puzzles, cooking, baking, sewing, going to the beach and swimming, particularly in her later years with her sister Linda at the YMCA. She was a life long fan of both the Chicago Bears and Cubs. She lived to see the Cubs win a World Series, and even attended Game 3 in Wrigley Field with her daughter and son. To her dismay, the Cubs traded Rizzo, Baez and Bryant in 2021, and she swore, (both literally and figuratively), she would never watch the Cubs again. Exhibiting both her Italian temper and German stubbornness, she remained true to her word until death. 

Joyce is survived by her husband of 52 years, Tom; her son Joseph; her daughter Melissa (Leon) Noel; her daughter Laura Jackson; grandsons Tyler, Josh, Jacob and Landon; sisters Linda Koehler and Nancy Gherardini; and numerous in-laws, nieces and nephews. 

She was preceded in death by her beloved parents; her sisters Diane, Dolores and Edith; and brothers in law Don, Paul, Joe, John, Bob, Jim and Kent.

Pallbearers will be her grandsons Tyler & Josh Noel and Jake & Landon Jackson, godsons Greg Orsini & Brian Bernardoni, and nephews Kent Koehler Jr. and Don Orsini.

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