Ethel Joyce Hollis Hyche (Peachtree Corners, Georgia) was called home by her Heavenly Father on July 21, 2018. Joyce, as she was known to her family and friends, was born July 18, 1930 in Florence, Alabama. Joyce leaves behind a legacy of love and service as well as many family members, including her son and daughter-in-law, John and Kristi; daughter Vicki; five grandchildren – Rebecca, Sarah, Anna, Stephen, and Jonathan – and nieces and nephews from coast to coast.
Joyce had four great loves in her life. The first was her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. She exemplified this love in her conversations and example. Prayer was a daily habit, and each day was concluded on her knees in prayer before bed. She studied the Bible constantly, most often in preparation for teaching the Gleaners Sunday School class at Clairmont Baptist Church, a role she fulfilled for multiple decades. The counsel and advice she offered was always tempered with respect for Biblical guidance and Godly wisdom.
Joyce met her husband, James (Jim) O’Neal Hyche (January 14, 1930 – November 8, 2003) when they were students at Walker County High School in Jasper, Alabama. Alphabetical order in home room put them together and they never separated. They married in August 1954 and, true to their vows, were only separated by James’ death in 2003. Above all, Joyce and James exemplified the concept that in marriage “two are one” and approached every joy and challenge as a team.
Joyce was a wonderful, loving mother. She invested herself wholeheartedly in John and Vicki, working hard to provide opportunities, struggling with them to learn the “new math,” and encouraging them to apply themselves and persevere during trying times. Her desire to provide for her children led her to take a job as a faculty administrative assistant at Atlanta Baptist College, now Mercer University, in 1972. The school offered a tuition waiver for employees and their family members; Joyce’s employment there ensured that John and Vicki had at least one path for a college education. This strategy paid off for Vicki, who graduated from Mercer’s undergraduate program in 1984 and Mercer’s law school in 1987. Joyce retired from Mercer in 2004, closing out a 32 year career. At Mercer Joyce met many coworkers and faculty members who became life-long friends.
Joyce was a proud and joyful grandmother and loved each of her grandchildren dearly. She doted on each one appropriately and attended countless ballet recitals and little league games. In a sense, she was a patron of the arts. She once asked what she could give her granddaughters for Christmas. John’s response was “anything as long as it wasn’t made of plastic and didn’t take up space in their small house.” Joyce decided to contribute to ballet classes for “the Girls.” The Girls began ballet in 1996 and continue through today – clearly a gift that keeps on giving.
Joyce will be missed by her family and friends. Her kind heart, Godly wisdom, and subtle sense of humor made her a wonderful person to know. Her family is comforted by her Christian faith, believing that her death is merely a transition from this world to God’s presence in Heaven, free of sin, pain, and worry.
2 Corinthians 5 (KJV) 1 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2 Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, 3 because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4 For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. 6 Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7 For we live by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
A service will be held to honor Joyce on Wednesday, July 25, 2018, 10:00 a.m. at H M Patterson Oglethorpe Chapel in Brookhaven, GA. The family will receive guests Tuesday, July 24, 2018 from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. at the funeral home. Online condolences may be made at www.hmpattersonoglethorpe.com.
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