JOYCE PAUSTIAN
 

Joyce Paustian was born and raised in Davenport, Iowa, one of the hot AWA cities of the kayfabe era. She found professional wrestling on TV in 1969, and when she attended her first "live" card in July 1971, there was no turning back; she was hooked. Since that first card, Joyce attended over 400 cards throughout the midwest.

Joyce's early favorites were and have remained Doctor "X" (Dick Beyer), Nick Bockwinkel, Baron Von Raschke, Bobby Heenan, and Mad Dog and Butcher Vachon. In 1972, she joined the Bockwinkel Fan Club and got to meet her hero at Bockwinkel Brigade Conventions. She also attended several of the old W.F.I.A conventions in various cities and forged lasting friendships with fans and wrestlers that continue to this day.

It was the late historian Jim Melby and Chicago photographer Mike Gratchner that convinced Joyce to start taking pictures at ringside in 1977. Through the years, Joyce's photos have appeared in many AWA magazines and programs that were published in the 70's and 80's. In 1978, Joyce was honored for her photo taking by the W.F.I.A with a "Photo of the Year" award, and then in 1985, she was again recognized by the W.F.I.A as "Best Posed Photographer of the Year". Joyce has over 15 large photo albums of various wrestlers, and she hopes to someday have them compiled into a book.

She attended every live wrestling card in Davenport and Moline until 1979, when the cities no longer ran wrestling shows. She then took to the road and traveled to other midwest cites including Rockford, Peoria, Chicago, Milwaukee, and the Twin Cities. With the territory expansion in the mid 1980's, Joyce was afforded the opportunity to shoot photos of WCW and WWF stars of that era too.

In addition to her huge photo collection, Joyce also collected wrestling magazines, books, posters, and action figures. She has an entire room in her home dedicated to displaying her memorbilia.

In the 1990's, Joyce began attending the annual Cauliflower Alley Club reunions, and reconnected with many of her old friends and wrestling favorites. She also attends the annual Hall of Fame inductions in Waterloo, Iowa. Many of her photos have also appeared in the CAC's "Ear" and the bulletins published for the Hall of Fame.

Other hobbies include nature photography, scrapbooking, rock music, and shopping for antique toys and collectibles. But, it is professional wrestling where her heart is. When away from her hobby, Joyce is a Budget Analyst for the Federal Government.

It is hard to think of a person more deserving of the Friendship Award!