A Love Story Set to Music
by Eryn Reddell Wingert | Photos courtesy of Joyce and Jimmy Hansen
She had been a pastor’s wife; his weekends were spent playing music in bars. She loves the dance floor; he was used to the stage. But a mutual love of music–and a God wink–brought Joyce and Jimmy Hansen together.
Missouri seemed colder the winter after Joyce’s husband, Larry, passed away. She wanted to be where it was warm, so she returned to the Rio Grande Valley where they had spent time together.
In February 2018, Joyce attended a dance at Tip O’Texas RV Resort in Pharr. She sat on the singles side of the hall.
Jimmy was there, and when a mutual friend, Sharon Kenaston, told him he might want to go ask that little widow lady to dance–pointing out Joyce–he didn’t hesitate.
“I made a beeline over to ask her,” Jimmy recalls. Joyce looked up and saw what she described as “the perfect cowboy.”
Steven May was playing that night. Jimmy and Joyce danced to one song, something like George Straight’s “Amarillo by Morning,” and Jimmy sang to her.
They also talked. He told her he was from Nebraska. Joyce admitted she wasn’t a fan because it’s flat, but Jimmy bragged about the hills around his house, which intrigued her. He didn’t know anything about Kirksville, where Joyce lived.
“I must have made an impression,” says Joyce because he invited her to the Riverside Club in Mission, where he would be performing later that week
Jimmy was on stage when she walked in. When he saw her, he was pleasantly surprised. “I really didn’t think she would show.”
They talked more during his break and even danced a waltz. He didn’t know how, so she showed him. Sharon called out from the stage, “Good luck, Joyce!”
“You know,” Joyce recalled “he did pretty good.” She taught him to waltz; in turn, he swept her off her feet.
Their differences seemed to outweigh their similarities, including their music preferences. Joyce sings and writes gospel songs; Jimmy sang and played rhythm guitar in a country band. But they each adapted in various ways, and their mutual love of music binds them.
“We just always knew we were going to be together,” says Joyce. And a year after they met, they made it official–at a country-themed wedding at Quiet Village II in Donna, where they both sang to each other during the ceremony.
Joyce wrote these lyrics for Jimmy: “You stole my heart as you gazed into my eyes, and your arms wrapped me close as we danced. You laughed and sang, and I knew one thing. You were part of God’s amazing plan.”
Jimmy, who readily admits he wasn’t a churchgoer before meeting Joyce, sang Tracy Byrd’s “Keeper of the Stars,” a song that references God’s hand in bringing a couple together.
It’s their differences that make it interesting. He appreciates how good she is with people. “If anyone is down or dying, she’s right there to talk with them.” She appreciates his humor and affectionate and easy-going nature.
The couple spends time at Jimmy’s farm in Nebraska. Joyce has even started a garden there and has come around to liking the Sandhills. And when Jimmy is not farming, they spend time near her family in Missouri.
In the Valley, it’s all about music–taking part in jam sessions, going to dances, and even putting on gigs themselves–dances and block parties.
This month marks the Hansens’ sixth wedding anniversary. Joyce says it’s gone by fast. “We’re living the good life,” Joyce shares. “We really are–together.”
