Joyce Wentz graduated from high school in Burlington
and took both the bachelor's and master's degrees in
music education from The University of Kansas. She did
additional work at The University of Iowa, Columbia
Conservatory, and the Christensen Choral School. She
began teaching in Winchester and went to Atchison in
1924, where she taught for thirty-nine years. She also
taught at Mount Saint Scholastica and was a guest
instructor in summer sessions at KU and Marymount
College. She was a pioneer in the use of handbells in
schools and directed the choir at the First Christian
Church in Atchison for thirty-three years. In 1971 the
Joyce Wentz Memorial Scholarship was established at
The University of Kansas continuing her influence on
students and on music education.