Elaine Ann “Lainey” Joyce-Klingemann, devoted and loving nurse, wife, and mother, peacefully passed away on November 14, 2024 surrounded by family and friends, her battle with an aggressive pancreatic cancer and its complications coming to an end.
Lainey was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania to Thomas Joseph Joyce and Mary Ann Korjeski Joyce on January 26, 1957. She and her older brother, Tommy Joyce, grew up in a loving Irish family with many aunts and uncles, and numerous cousins who were more like her siblings. She treasured memories of weekends spent at the lake as a youth, and, later, of adventures with her cousins and friends in Scranton and up the pike.
Lainey graduated from Scranton High School and went to Penn State University, where she attained a degree in nursing. In college, the work-study program placed her in the Athletics Office while Joe Paterno was head coach. A member of the Penn State Alumni Association, she was an avid and loyal Nittany Lion and would allow no disparagement of Penn State in her presence.
After graduation, she worked as a home health nurse in Scranton and Hershey, PA. She then took a job as a charge nurse on the neurology floor at George Washington University Hospital in Washington D.C. There, was a nurse to James Brady after he was shot during the Ronald Reagan assassination attempt. She also cared for a Saudi prince and got to visit Saudi Arabia and Egypt as his private nurse.
Eventually, Lainey began looking around the country for a sunny place to relocate. She moved to San Antonio and took a job at Santa Rosa Hospital as Nurse Director of the neurological unit. Soon thereafter, she met her future husband, Bill Klingemann, and the two were married in Scranton, Pennsylvania on August 23, 1991, honeymooning at Niagara Falls.
Lainey then took a job with the Methodist Hospital system where she worked at Metropolitan Hospital for a few years before moving to Northeast Methodist Hospital, where she found her home. She worked in various leadership capacities at Northeast Methodist Hospital for 30 years, including as Vice President of all Methodist rehabilitation units in San Antonio, head of the Joint Replacement Academy, and Director of the rehab and dialysis units. At Northeast Methodist she mentored many young nurses and touched countless patient lives. She received various awards and recognitions, including 2023 Unit of Distinction – Inpatient Rehab and two awards for her actions while off duty in resuscitating two individuals who had stopped breathing.
In 1993 and 1995, Lainey became mother to her two adored sons, James and Matthew. She loved taking the boys and their friends on various adventures across the state like crystal hunting, major league baseball games, beach trips, and shopping sprees. As the boys grew older, she fostered in them a love of golf, and the three could often be found enjoying a round together at Starcke Park.
Over the years, Lainey developed and maintained many friendships that she held dear. She treasured her time with friends, whether it was playing with the Golf Girls on Tuesdays, enjoying Wednesday happy hour, or taking trips to the coast. Lainey also made new friends wherever she went and was always the life of the party, drawing people in with her laughter and warmth. You couldn’t be around her for long without hearing one of her unforgettable stories about the mob changing her tires, her adventures with a Secret Service agent, or meeting Bill on the dancefloor, among many others.
Lainey loved St. Patrick’s Day, Penn State, Korean dramas, long walks, tennis, apples, sunny days, and her puppies. But above all, she loved her family and friends. Her zest for life was contagious, and she lived each day to its fullest. She will be deeply missed by all.
Lainey was predeceased by her parents, brother, aunts and uncles, and several cousins. She is survived by her husband, Bill J. Klingemann of Seguin, TX, and sons, James Thomas Klingemann of Philadelphia, PA and Matthew Joseph Klingemann of Seguin, as well as cherished cousins, friends, and colleagues.
Services will be held at St. James Catholic Church, 510 S. Camp Street, Seguin, Texas 78155 on Saturday, November 23, 2024 at 10:00 a.m., with interment and a reception to follow.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Penn State THON via thon.org (please credit donations to the Boulevard student organization). THON is the world’s largest student run philanthropy and raises funds for children with cancer. Donations may also be made to the charity of one’s choice.
Sláinte, Lainey.
You are invited to sign the guest book at www.treshewell.com. Arrangements are under the direction of Tres Hewell Mortuary, 165 Tor Dr., Seguin, Texas, 78155, 830-549-5912.