Joyce Saeger

Joyce Anderson Saeger, 91, passed away on September 14, 2022, at Westminster Towers in Orlando, Florida.

Joyce was born on April 16, 1931, in Cleveland, Ohio, to parents Elsa Margareta (Ostlund) Anderson and Alvin E. Anderson. They moved, with her brother Phil, to Barrington, Rhode Island in 1943, and that became the family’s home base.

Joyce graduated from Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois, and was a proud member of the renowned Augustana College Choir. In 1954, she married Navy Chaplain Alfred R. Saeger, Jr. at Trinity Lutheran Church in Worcester, Massachusetts, where Joyce was Director of Christian Education and Youth.  Joyce and Al—and their three children Becky, Kris and Dave—moved frequently, living in Iceland, Italy, Newport, RI, Washington DC, and many other places.  She made each place home for her family, overseeing the moves, renovating houses, and always filling her homes with music and her Danish modern furniture. She loved their cabin at Lake Wentworth, NH, a place the family returned to throughout their travels.

Joyce’s role and her contributions as a Navy wife were the center of her life for 30 years.  She served on church councils and led several Church groups, Navy Officers’ Wives Clubs, and Navy Chaplains’ Wives Clubs, helping the communities where the military families found themselves.  She and Al retired to Barrington, then moved to Florida in 1999.  Joyce was an active member of the Board of Directors for their Daytona Beach Shores condominium, serving as Board President.

Joyce loved music and was an accomplished musician and artist.  She directed and sang in several church choirs and helped make music an important part of the services.  She also sang in the Icelandic National Symphony Chorus, and in the Washington Oratorio Society with the National Symphony Orchestra.

She also painted and did charcoal drawings—often of the family pets—that graced her homes.  She was a talented florist, managing a florist shop in McLean VA as well as her own floral design business.  She was proud of her Swedish heritage and continued the family tradition of Christmas smörgåsbord.

Joyce moved to Lutheran Haven in Oviedo, Florida in 2013 when she needed assisted living, and she found a home there until the nursing home closed in 2022.  Her beloved daughter Kris oversaw her care and comfort, ably assisted and greatly appreciated by Becky and Dave.

Joyce was predeceased by her loving husband Al, her brother Phil, and stepbrother Don.  She is survived by her children Kris Saeger, of Titusville, Dave Saeger (Eileen) of Barrington, and Becky Saeger (Tom Graves) of San Francisco; grandsons Ryan Saeger (Anna Gaskill) of Newport and Riley Saeger of Boston.   Also her cousin Caroline Bernhard Benson, sisters-in-law Lois Raymond and Mudgie Anderson, and stepbrother Dave Anderson (Linda), as well as nieces and nephews she loved. We will miss this “stubborn Swede" dearly.

A memorial service will be held on Friday, October 28th at 11:00 am at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church, 2021 W. State Rd. 426, Oviedo, Florida, followed by a reception.  Interment will be in Forest Chapel Cemetery, Barrington, Rhode Island.

In lieu of flowers, we know Joyce would appreciate your contributions to the wonderful St. Luke’s Concert Series sllcs.org/concert-series, or to Blue Star Families bluestarfam.org in support of military families.