Joyce Deanne (Phillips) Essmiller, 96, passed away August 7, 2022, at HaysMed, Hays, Kansas, after a short illness. She was born February 11, 1926, in Hoisington, Kansas to Mark Paul and Ida Marie (Willcutt) Phillips. She spent her early years in Hoisington before moving to Great Bend. She graduated from Great Bend High School and married her high school sweetheart, Arnold Essmiller, Jr. on January 19, 1944. They celebrated almost 74 years of marriage before his passing on November 21, 2017.