Joyce Faye (Vail) Knott, 89, passed away on May 5, 2026 at Homestead Estates Assisted Living in Wichita, KS, following a battle with Alzheimer's.

She was born March 1, 1937, in Satanta KS, to Russell William Vail and Ruth Elizabeth (Novinger) Behnke. She spent her childhood and elementary years living in the Plains, KS community. After her father died, her mother remarried (LaVerne Behnke) and they moved to Bushton, KS, where she graduated from high school in 1955.

She attended Southwestern College in Winfield, KS for a year before marrying David Arthur Weihe in 1957. Different Air Force assignments took them outside the state of Kansas to live in Alabama, Hawaii, and Illinois. Amidst these travels, three children were born: David, Margene, and Russell.

Joyce enjoyed and excelled in most sports she played.  She shared that she was motivated by the fact that her high school didn't offer basketball for girls in her era, unlike her mother's, where Ruth got to set a record of 90 points in 1 game.  She tried out and made the Great Bend State Softball team, while in Kansas, and later won trophies in bowling, in her Hawaii and Illinois years. She continued to stay active most of her life, with walking, golfing, and even playing on a hometown summer softball team with her daughter.

In 1970 she moved home to Plains with her 3 children. She married Gregg Knott in 1973 and gained 4 stepchildren: Blaine, Kerry, Melodie, and Aven. They were like the Brady Bunch, but had a cooler name, the Why-Nots!  Joyce was an excellent cook, feeding her large brood such favorites as fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, bierocks, and strawberry rhubarb pie. The kids always looked forward to the leftover crust, sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar.

Together Gregg and Joyce enjoyed playing golf right across the street at the Joyce L. Hamm Country Club and were very active in making sure the course stayed in good shape as one of the best in SW Kansas. They enjoyed playing cards with their friends, especially Pitch, into the wee hours of the night. On rare occasions when they let the kids stay up and watch, it was quite a hoot to see them outbid each other.  They were extremely competitive in a humorous, loving way.  They loved dancing in Liberal and participating with the Knights of Columbus.  Joyce and Gregg also took several trips to Colorado and Nevada to try their luck on the slot machines and Keno.

Joyce loved small town life and was very active in her community in a variety of ways.  She spent many hours on her IBM Select typewriter as editor for the Plains Journal and columnist of "Joyce's Jabbers".

One of her accomplishments she was most proud of was leading a committee of proud hometown citizens to complete the Plains Centennial book in a very short period of time, reportedly only 2 months.  They followed up with the sequel "2000 and Counting" 15 years later.

She was a member of St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Plains and was very active at the senior citizens center with meal prep, transportation, and activities.  She frequently helped organize high school reunions for both Plains and Bushton.  She loved making plans to bring people together.

She managed to keep Gregg busy during the holidays out in the garage with the cutting and jig sawing of hundreds upon hundreds of wooden pieces for Christmas ornaments, customized calendars, and cookie jar lids for their kids and grandkids.  Many of these are still in use today.

She loved taking bus trips to planned destinations all over the U.S., but especially the  "Mystery" trip tours.  One time Russell called her on his way home from work and she said, "Guess where I am?" He said "Hawaii?"  Then, after asking the person next to her for some clarification, she said, "Nope, Montana."

In 2017, she moved to live with her daughter in Derby, KS.  There she continued her enjoyment of travel, Music Theater of Wichita and Forum Plays, Casino Days, became a member of the Derby Senior Center and joined the Pitch play and other activities and trips they offered.  She also got to spend more time with the various life events and activities that a growing extended family of grandkids, great grands, nieces, nephews, and their families could afford.

In 2023, due to a decline in health she moved into assisted living at Homestead Estates in Wichita where she spent her final years.  All the staff said the same thing: "Your mother is so cute!"

She is preceded in death by her husband Gregg of 40+ years; her stepson Blaine; her parents Russell and Ruth and stepdad LaVerne, her siblings Gloria and Russell, and her grandson David Leach.

She is survived by her 3 children, 3 stepchildren and their families: son David Weihe of Fernandina Beach, FL and his 3 children: Aaron of Fernandina Beach, FL, Maximilian of Seattle, WA, and Genevieve of Fernandina Beach, FL.  Daughter Margene Weihe, Wichita and her 3 children: Kirsten (Jason) Anthem of Wichita, KS and their 3 children Shane, Zoey, and Wesley, Kathryn (Abraham) Rodriguez of Andover, and Tommy (Rachel) Leach of Wichita, KS.  Son Russell (Amy) Weihe of Ocean Springs, MS and their 4 children: Alex (Loggan) of Ocean Springs, MS,  Andrew and fiancé Ana of Franklin, TN, Brady of Oceans Springs, MS, and Emily and fiancé Parker of Summerville, SC.  The family of the late Blaine (Missi) Knott and their 2 children Jeff of Wichita, KS and Bailey (Chris) Clark of Gulf Breeze, FL and their 3 children Callie, Miles and Cooper.  Kerry (Lynne) Knott of Leawood, KS and their 2 children; Keaton (Kaitlyn) of Leawood, KS and two children Sam and Joey, Mallory (Colton) Martin of Austin, TX and their 2 children Mary and Ted, Melodie Knott in Humansville, MO and her 3 children Russell (Keri) Chinn of Springfield, MO and their 2 children Aaron and Alex, Anna Howe of Kelso, WA and her son Cody Howe of Aurora, CO, and Robert Chinn of Humansville, MO. Aven Knott of Lisle, IL and his 4 children Tara (Hunter) Patterson of Ontario, Canada and their 2 children Eli and Nora, Kelli (Jason) Wiggins of Franklin, TN and their 2 children Shiloh and Arilaya, Riley of Miami, FL, and Alison of Delray, FL.

Services will take place on Saturday, May 9:
10-11:30am - Visitation & Eulogy at Fidler-Orme Bachman Funeral Home in Meade, KS

12:30pm - Funeral Mass at St. John the Baptist in Meade, KS

3:00pm - Burial at Plains Cemetery