KMEA Hall of Fame
Joyce Wentz
Inducted in 1987
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.