Joyce Wunderlich Pearson

Joyce Muriel Wunderlich Pearson, 93, of Hailey, Idaho, died peacefully in her sleep on the morning of Sunday, July 19, 2026, at St. Luke’s Wood River hospital, following a courageous battle with lung cancer.

She was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on March 6, 1933, to Martin Clemens Wunderlich, who emigrated from Denmark to the U.S. in 1906, and Evelyn Muriel Otterness. Joyce was the oldest of four children.

Martin built a thriving excavation business in Minneapolis, at one point working more than 300 horses and mules to move dirt. He loved horses, and Joyce inherited his passion.

The family moved to Denver, and then to Palo Alto, California, where Joyce graduated from high school in 1950. She received a bachelor’s degree in animal husbandry from the University of California, Davis. There she met and married Gordon Eric (Ric) Reynolds. Their daughters, Anne and Jill, were born in 1954 and 1957. The family lived in the Sacramento area until 1961, then moved to Redwood City and Woodside. Joyce and Ric’s marriage ended in 1965.

From 1962 to 1972, Joyce ran a horse boarding facility in Woodside at the remarkable Folger Estate, a property her father had acquired as a possible development project. Martin later donated the thousand acres to San Mateo County for a park, known today as Wunderlich Park.

It was there that Joyce met Bradbury Dodge Pearson. They married in 1970 and two years later moved to Moore, Idaho, trading the crowded Bay Area for the Western lifestyle rural Idaho had to offer. They purchased a ranch and began a career in the cattle business. Their son, Jesse, was born in June 1973. During these years Joyce and Brad played in a small band and gigged in towns around Idaho. In 1978 they moved to a horse ranch in Bellevue, Idaho; the marriage ended in 1981. Joyce continued cattle ranching for 25 years.

Joyce was an excellent rider. She competed in nearly every discipline: gymkhana, jumping, fox hunting, roping, three-gaited, five-gaited, fine harness, cutting, reining and reined cow horse. For more than 70 years she bred exceptional Quarter Horses, raising some of the most highly esteemed reined cow horses in the industry. Her eye for good horseflesh was unmatched, and her compassion for horses and her commitment to excellent horsemanship were the same. Her influence on the reined cow horse world will be felt for years to come, through her bloodlines and the people those horses touched.

She loved the mountains and wilderness nearly as much as she loved her children and her horses, and she was devoted to preserving and protecting all places wild and unspoiled. Stanley, Idaho, was her favorite spot on earth.

Joyce held to one unshakable rule: You water and feed every animal, every day, before anything else. Hers was a house where you learned to fix what broke and figure out what you didn’t yet know. Her resourcefulness and self-reliance became her children’s and grandchildren’s inheritance. She only had time for the truth. She could sniff out BS no matter where it came from. Her interrogations were rigorous. She was undeniably fair and consistent in every circumstance. Her word was her bond.

In her final weeks, Joyce was at home, doing what she loved. She sat at the head of the table, full of family and friends, eating only delicious organic food, telling true stories of her amazing life’s journey, including all the challenges and calamities along the way. She always honored everyone in attendance with her keen analytical interest in their journeys. That is how her family will remember her, and that is how she would want to be remembered.

Joyce is survived by her three children Anne Muriel Reynolds, Jill Laurel Reynolds Curran (Timothy Michael Curran) and Jesse Clay Pearson; her four grandsons Hollister Martin Jones, Wilder Eric Jones, Taylor Michael Curran (Savannah Molina) and Austin Eric Curran; and her two great-grandchildren Jack Henry Curran and Faye Rose Curran. She was preceded in death by her parents; and her three siblings Robert Wunderlich, Oril Wunderlich and Alys Wunderlich Bachlor.

A celebration of Joyce’s incredible life will be held on Sept. 27, 2026, in Stanley, Idaho, with a reception the evening of Sept. 26 at her home in Hailey. Details to be announced. Please RSVP when asked, so we can plan to accommodate everyone. If you can be there for only one day, we hope you’ll choose the 27th.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Spur Foundation, Sage School or Senior Connection. Details for her celebration of life can be found at celebratejoyce.com.