JOYCE KALENDER Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Joyce was born May 3, 1930 to the late Max and Freida Mendell in St. Joseph, Missouri. She attended high school in St. Joseph and went to The University of Iowa where she met her future husband, Stanley Kalender. Joyce and Stan settled in St. Joseph, where three of her four children were born. In 1960, the family relocated to Kansas City, where they would live for the next thirty years. Joyce was a dedicated volunteer throughout her life. She was actively involved in B’nai B’rith for 45 years, serving as President of both the Kansas City and St Joseph chapters in addition to serving as President of the regional counsel. After Stanley’s’ retirement, they moved to Florida where she also served as chapter president. She also was a member in B’nai B’rith in Las Vegas where she moved after Stanley died in 1998. She returned to Kansas City in 2012, where she lived until her passing. Besides B’nai B’rith, she was also involved with Hadassah and the Beth Shalom sisterhood where she also served as president in addition to running the gift shop for many years. At Beth Shalom, she was instrumental in starting the Lechem project, which involved serving food to the needy at local food shelter. Joyce also volunteered at the Jewish Community Center Resident Theatre and was head of props for many years. Joyce and Stanley went on cruises often, especially after Stanley suffered the first of his heart problems. She was an avid bridge player, played mahjong for the comradery and was an excellent cook as well, even giving cooking classes in Las Vegas. Joyce loved surrounding herself with her family around the Jewish Holidays, which were always at her house and with all the cooking was done by her. She did her best to keep the extended family together, her house was always the cornerstone of family gatherings. Joyce was very caring to all people with issues such as a person’s race, religion, financial status making no difference to her. She was preceded in death by her parents, Max and Freida, her husband Stanley, her brother Jerry Mendel, and grandson Zachary Glass. She is survived by her sons Larry Kalender (Phyllis), Howard Kalender (Sherri), Rabbi David Kalender (Talya), and daughter Lora Biernbaum (David). She is also survived by 8 grandchildren: Lynn, Geoffrey, Ari, Jessica, Lee, Renee, Aryeh, Yaira, Nadav and Corey in addition to 9 great grandchildren. She will be missed by all who knew her. In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions to Beth Shalom Synagogue.

JOYCE KALENDER

May 3, 1930 - January 28, 2017