Joyce Darus was born in 1933 in Rockledge, a rural, southeast Georgia town. Her parents, William Benton and Edna Lucille Benton were hard working farmers. Growing up on her parents' farm with six sisters and three brothers, the hard times of the 1930's did not overshadow her happy childhood—one filled with both simple pleasures and adventures. She often recalled sweeping the front yard with a homemade broom and working in the fields to harvest vegetables. Near her house, she could explore Indian caves or wave a flag to stop a train heading into the next town. As she lay in the yard looking at the sky, she would occasionally see an airplane flying high overhead and told her sisters that the planes were following roads that couldn't be seen from the ground. She thought about who was on board and where they were going.
When her father died in 1947, her mother was faced with the daunting task of trying to support her large family. The social services agencies recommended that she place the children up for adoption, but she was adamant that they remain together and moved the family to Cross Creek, Florida, where she had relatives.
In Cross Creek, with the support of each other and nearby relatives, the family found stronger footing. Work was no stranger to any of the children. Joyce remembered baiting hooks at the nearby fishing marina for a few cents an hour. She never spoke of these times grudgingly; on the contrary, her recollections were very enthusiastic. Life was an adventure, and she was not going to let a little hard work steer it off course. One of her favorite expressions was "If it is to be, it's up to me". She learned to roller skate on the short cement bridge that spans Cross Creek and got to know the writer Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, who lived nearby and wrote about the area.
At Hawthorne High School, Joyce was a cheerleader. While still working, she also excelled academically and was the valedictorian of her class. Her hard work was recognized with her selection to the Florida American Legion's Girls State conference at Florida State University.
After graduation, Joyce worked in Gainesville, where she met the love of her life, J.T. Darus. They were married in December of 1956 and eventually moved to Jacksonville, where they purchased their first house in the Normandy Shores area. In 1960, the young couple moved to Orlando, where J. T. had accepted a position with a growing company. The following year, their son, Brian, was born, and two years later, their daughter, Ann, was born. Joyce always said that being a mother was the most important job in her life and that "if you fail at being a good mother, then nothing else matters". She was involved with every facet of her children's lives—including serving as PTA president and organizing the first in-school clinic at their elementary school.
One afternoon in the early 1970's, J. T. told her that had bought an airplane and that as soon as he became licensed to fly it, he wanted her to get her pilot's license. Always up for new adventures, she met this challenge head-on, and in 1971 earned her private pilot's license. After all, she had to see for herself those roads in the sky that she had contemplated while lying on the ground on her family's farm in Georgia many years earlier. No doubt she looked down at some of the farms dotting the ground below and wondered if any little girls were lying on the ground looking at her.
In the mid-1970's, she obtained her real estate license and, along with her husband, opened an office in College Park. By the early 1980's, she had also become a licensed insurance agent and began a successful career with Allstate insurance that spanned more than 30 years.
When J. T. died in 1984, she was the glue that held the family together. Although nothing would ever be the same, she continued to focus on helping her children move forward. She enthusiastically supported Ann's participation in several Miss America preliminary pageants—and was the best confidante and supporter a daughter could have.
During that time, she gauged her success by the clients that she was able to help. She was a tireless advocate for their needs and viewed them as dear friends. She celebrated the births of the children and cried with them at the loss of their loved ones. Many simply called her "Miss Joyce". She was so respected and trusted that most customers refused to speak with anyone else. In her office, her level of service was truly the "gold standard" by which everyone else was measured.
In her spare time, she seldom missed an episode of Wheel of Fortune, and always ended the day by doing word search puzzles and reading her Bible.
In her last years, she kept her sweet disposition and cheerful smile, and they brightened each day. She was constantly surprising those around her and was an incredible soldier in the face of overwhelming odds. Above all, she continued teaching her children about life and love, the value of family, and the art of caring. Together they faced incredible challenges, yet the guiding power of her love saw them all through the difficult times. They could never have had a better mother.
May God bless this remarkable wife, mother, sister, and friend.
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