John Howard Joyce, Sr.

John Howard Joyce, Sr., Captain USNR Retired, died at Vaughan Regional Medical Center February 21, 2006.

He was born on July 8, 1917, in Eileen, Wisconsin, the firstborn child of Marjory Elizabeth Tarbox and Howard Francis Joyce, and raised in Ashland, WI.

During WWII he served as a Naval flight instructor, training fighter pilots.

He married Rosa Miller Hobbs of Selma at the Chapel of the National Cathedral in Washington, DC, on April 26, 1943, in a ceremony solemnized by the Reverend Peter Marshall.

After the war he returned to the University of Wisconsin to complete his degree as a Mechanical Engineer.

After shivering, shoveling snow, and driving on ice in Madison, Wisconsin, he decided that he wanted to move south. Here the outdoor sports he loved could be enjoyed the year around.

The Joyces lived briefly in Birmingham until their move to Selma in the mid ’50s.

John served as chief engineer at Craig Air Force Base until it was closed. In his retirement he developed his talent for the cabinet making he had learned in junior high school shop.

He built treasured pieces of furniture for his children and grandchildren.

He was a member of the local bowling league for years, with numerous trophies for his efforts.

He played golf and became convinced that his putting would be perfect if he only had the right club.

For years his molds and prototypes for putter heads were on the kitchen counter as he vainly pursued a better short game.

Fishing was another lifelong passion, with trips to the coast when rumors that fish were biting reached his ears.

Late in life he enjoyed traveling to Ireland, the home of his paternal ancestors.

He loved music, especially vocal, and was blessed with a beautiful baritone voice. He sang with the Civic Chorus, the Selma Choral Society, and the First Presbyterian Church choir as long as he was able, often as a soloist.

His survivors include: his widow; his brother Frederick Lathrop Joyce of Pensacola, FL.; his brother-in-law, Judge Truman McGill Hobbs (Joyce Cummings) of Montgomery, AL; Five children: Marjory Elizabeth Joyce Cromer (Rick) of Greensboro, NC; Sarah Ellen Joyce Sherling (Bill) of Auburn, AL; Harriet Hampton Joyce of Portland, OR; John Howard Joyce, Jr. (Jennifer Johnson) of the Woodlands, TX; and Robert Knox Greene Joyce (Elizabeth Weatherman) of Auburn, AL. Grandchildren: Elizabeth Cromer McCloy, Dannelly Cromer Perdion, Miller Hobbs Sherling, Carolyn Cromer Kilbride, Dorothy Norman Sherling, Alexander Charles Joyce-Peickert, Evelyn Landrum Joyce, and James Tracy Joyce. Great grandchildren: Charles Taylor McCloy, Jr., John Richard Perdion, Campbell Cromer McCloy, and Jason Samuel Perdion.

He was preceded in death by his sister Elizabeth Joyce Redwine, his brother-in-law, Samuel Earle Greene Hobbs and his son-in-law James Charles Peickert.

A memorial service will be held at the First Presbyterian Church of Selma at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, February 24, 2006. The family will receive friends following the service in the Warren Room adjacent to the sanctuary.

In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to the charity of your choice.

Julia M. Ford

Julia M. Ford, 76, a resident of Sardis passed on February 18, 2006, at her residence.

Funeral arrangements will be announced later by J. H. Williams & Sons Funeral Home.