Joy Morgan Davis

Joy was born in Ft. Worth, TX while both of her parents were students at SWBTS. Growing up in MS as the daughter of W. C. Morgan, a beloved Music Minister & Band Director, Joy was always in the limelight. Speaking in a church program at the age of 12, she realized that speaking & writing were her talents. She was on the staff of her high school & college newspapers & yearbooks. She spent many summers at Ridgecrest Baptist Assembly in NC, with her parents leading classes, and later as a college student serving tables in the cafeteria. At Ridgecrest she settled many life decisions. There, she met the red-headed boy from Jacksonville, FL, Jewell A. Davis, Jr., They raised their family in Oak Cliff of Dallas, TX and FBCDallas. They were married for 64 years until his death in 2018.

Joy earned a B. A. from Mississippi College. Her parents had met at MC. She appeared in “Outstanding Young Women of America” and in 1992 was given the Golden Arrow Award, the highest honor the college bestows on alumni.

Joy was a Dallas Book Reviewer that you didn’t want to miss! She began in 1965, and retired 50 years later at age 85. Her characters came to life, stepping from the pages as Joy portrayed them. She was partial to historical stories filled with romance, adventure & mystery. Joy filled over 100 engagements each year from September through May. Her trademark was to dress in costume reflecting the book.

In 1981, Joy was listed in “Personalities of the South”, and in 1984 she won the prestigious “George Washington Honor Medal” from the Freedom Foundation in Valley Forge. She has also been listed in the “Who’s Who of American Women”, performed as a dramatist at the TX & MS Bapt. Conventions, TX WMU Conventions, & Glorietta Bapt. Assembly in NM.

Joy published twelve inspirational & poetry books. “A Woman’s Song” was chosen by the Billy Graham Assoc. as one of the best new Christian books of 1984. Books to follow received endorsements by Florence Littauer, Ruth Bell Graham, Barbara Johnson, Luci Swindol, Paul Harvey, who often read her poetry on the air during his national broadcasts, as did Bill Pearce in his broadcasts, “NightSounds”. “A Mother’s Precious Moments” received the endorsement of Sam Butcher as each poem was illustrated by a Precious Moments figure. Other books have whimsical titles “You Bring the Umbrellas, Lord”, “Could You Hurry Up the Dawn, Lord?”, & “Under These False Eyelashes There’s a Grandmother”!

Joy is preceded in death by her parents Wm. Claude & Kate Durham Morgan of Jackson, MS, husband Jewell Andrew Davis, Jr. She is survived by son, Dr. Wm. Jewell Davis (Kathy) of Lubbock, TX, daughter Drew Ann Borsos (Daniel) of Nashville, TN; Grandchildren Amber Waddell of Los Angeles, CA, Will Davis (Kari) of Austin, TX, Anna Morgan Borsos of NYC, Amy Rohrer (Konner) of Lubbock, TX; Great Grandchildren Elia, Hannah Joy, Sarah Grace Davis; William Waddell; Eliza Jewell, Knox Rohrer.

A Son Remembers by Dr. Wm. Jewell Davis:

Mom caused much happiness, encouragement, & entertainment wherever she went! No one who heard her speak never once thought about leaving early. So the sadness & ache in our hearts we feel today is a cousin of the happiness we had in knowing her.

She was a child of the Depression, growing up in Mississippi. She was raised by parents of great faith, service, & accomplishment. As an only child, her companions were books, history, music & life-long friends.

Mom & Dad were opposites, an actress with high drama, a gift of performing, and the aerospace engineer, analytical & just as determined. She planned our school parties, dinner parties, & events associated with church functions & MS College alumni. She celebrated their 40th Wedding Anniv. reception while she “still had her looks, and friends & family were still living, instead of waiting until their 50th”! The family gifted them a trip to Mackinaw Island for their 50th, and yes, she did have her looks, but friends & family had indeed passed!

As a Dallas Book Reviewer she was faithful to every book she performed, but she left her indelible stamp on every performance. You knew you had been listening to Joy Davis! Without fail, when you heard Joy speak, you were given a complicated story which she made easy to understand, and there were always people that were in love, and in some way by the end of the story the love was requited, the loose ends were tied up, & all was well with the world.

I will tell you that Drew Ann & I think we are special, smart, & “one of a kind”. That’s because Mom told us that every day. After a while we began to believe she was right! And she told many of you much the same thing! She said you were special and whatever you were dealing with would work out. She never ignored the truth, sometimes she became an inquisitor. You always knew where she stood and yet she was always the encourager.

She shared freely her anxiety & worries about life situations in her books about poetry & life. She wrote about her sleepless nights, and care for those she loved, always resolved by trust in the Lord. She knew that the point of life was not achievement, not money, not power, but love, a faith that sees life as an expressive gift allowed by God, and above it all, a purpose & plan in life, not of our own.

Drew Ann was visiting Mom in Dallas. On the morning of August 9, they went to Neiman Marcus Cafe to meet with a close friend. Everyone there knew Joy, as she was a regular. She began to feel ill about midday. At Baylor Heart Hospital, doctors discovered that her heart rate was very low and by 6:00pm, her heart had stopped. It was the perfect day for Mom, the morning at Neiman’s and the evening in Heaven!

The family is filled with gratitude to the loving staff of Highland Springs Senior Living Community and Fountain View Continuing Care.

In lieu of a funeral service, the family will carry Jewell’s & Joy’s ashes to Ridgecrest to rest. Donations can be made in Joy Morgan Davis’s name to the W. C. Morgan Memorial Scholarship Fund, MS Bapt. Foundation, P. O. Box 530, Jackson, MS 39205; or the MC Music Dept, 200 Capitol St, Clinton, MS 39056; or the Truett Memorial Library, FBC Dallas, 1707 San Jacinto, Dallas, TX 75201.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.teddickeywestfuneral.com for the Davis family.