Joyce was born on April 13, 1938, in Valdosta, Georgia to the late Rudene Burchton Fort and Emma Louise Thagard Fort. In addition to her parents, Joyce was preceded in death by her husband of 57 years, Wayne Trammell and a son-in-law, Dana Lunsford.
Those left to cherish Joyce's memory are two daughters, Pat Keen (Jerry) of Spring, TX, and Ginger Lunsford of Newton, NC; four grandchildren, Nicole Call Spencer (Kaylor) of Claremont, NC; Jason Call (Traci) of Granite Falls, NC; Jennifer Keen of Houston, TX; and Matthew Keen (Sherilyn) of Cypress,TX; six great-grandchildren: Aidyn and Adriane Call; Emma, Lilly, and Halle Spencer; and Sean Keen; half-sister Lela Fort Morris (Roger) of Palatka, FL; sisters-in-law Claudette Trammell Gaddy (Jim) and Terri Trammell Houston both of Georgia; brothers-in-law Hugh, Ted, and Harry Trammell all of Georgia; as well as numerous nieces and nephews.
Joyce grew up in Atlanta, GA and was a 1956 graduate of Henry Grady High School. Joyce loved her Georgia roots; and she taught her family the most important parts to come out of Georgia. Which included Southern hospitality, her family lineage, and the food and experience from The Varsity in Atlanta. Being proud of being from Georgia, she was a past member of the United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Georgia Salzburger Society. Joyce spoke fondly of her memories traveling with her family to Dublin and Darien. She went on to take trips with friends from school. Those trips led to her love of the beach and finding the love of her life with her husband Wayne.
Joyce and Wayne passed down their passion for all things beach to their loved ones. They went on to have a strong connection to the Florida coast. The couple found their way through life for many years with Wayne's career at General Electric. During this time in the 1960’s, Joyce worked as a secretary for NASCAR drivers at Daytona International Speedway. However, a job transfer for Wayne had the family relocating to Florida’s Space Coast when Wayne supported GE’s partnership with the NASA Apollo space program. Joyce found herself doing keypunching at the nearby Patrick Air Force Base when computers took up entire rooms, long before the creation of the micro-computers today.
Joyce’s special gifts were being creative, artistic and being strong in her faith. She enjoyed gardening, crocheting, painting, and basket weaving. Her southern cooking, especially her creamed corn, grits, and pot roast were greatly anticipated at family gatherings. Joyce also had a deep affection for her four-legged “children'', especially poodles. Dogs gave her great comfort throughout her life. At times, she could be silly or cuddly (who could forget her Tarzan yell, playing Rainbow Islands on Nintendo, and tickling kisses under the neck). She loved staying up late and sharing old pictures of her family. She would watch her favorite shows so much she could recite them word for word. Some of her favorites were,"Downton Abbey", "The Notebook", and "Gone With The Wind". Genealogy was a life-long project as she spent countless hours researching, visiting cemeteries, reading books, and connecting with others on Facebook. This led her to several organizations where she could learn more about her ancestry and share her work with others. Her greatest passion of all was spending time with her family whenever and wherever (beach vacations, Sunday dinners, sleepovers, game nights, athletic activities, recitals, theater, etc). Her grandchildren and great-grandchildren were a great source of joy to her.
Church was also a central part of Joyce's life and she was a long time member of the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany. She sang in the choir, and served on the Altar Guild as well as being a member of The Order of the Daughters of the King. She always made time to call on her fellow members in need of companionship, a ride to the doctor or a meal. Through church, she coordinated several efforts to collect items to send to our troops in Iraq during her grandson’s tours with the Army. At the time of her passing Joyce was a member of the John Hoyle Chapter,NSDAR.
Please join Joyce's family in celebrating Joyce’s life on Saturday, May 18, 2024, at The Episcopal Church of The Epiphany, 730 W. 13th Street, Newton, NC 28658. Family visitation will be held in the church’s library at 10:30 a.m. The Holy Eucharist Service will begin at 11:00 a.m. A private graveside service will follow. Her family invites everyone to wear a “church” hat in Joyce’s honor, as she loved wearing them year-round and had quite the collection.
We would like to extend our greatest appreciation to all of the wonderful staff at Carolina Caring and Abernathy Laurels for the loving care that our mom received. Memorial donations may be made to Carolina Caring Catawba Valley Hospice, 3975 Robinson Rd., Newton, NC 28658
Willis-Reynolds Funeral Home is honored to be serving the family during this difficult time.
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