Joyce Jean Moore

Joyce Jean (Johnson) Moore was born May 21, 1933, in Corpus Christi, to Percy Morgan and Winofred Margarette (Perrigue) Johnson, their fourth of seven children. While the family was deeply rooted in Corpus Christi, Percy and Winnie moved their family moved to Teague before Joyce started school. Joyce attended Teague ISD, Del Mar College, and The University of Texas at Austin where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree voice and music education.

After teaching the 56-57 school year in the Dallas ISD, Joyce moved to Sinton to teach elementary music, and it was in Sinton she met a young math teacher and part-time children’s home farm manager, J. B. Moore. They married June 21st, 1958. J. B. was promoted to Executive Director of the children’s home, Boys’ City (later Coastal Bend Youth City), in Driscoll in 1960, and Joyce helped him with various chores at the home over the next 25 years serving as a caseworker, music teacher, girls’ 4-H leader, and later as the Director of Campus Life. She enjoyed immensely teaching the girls of the home cooking and sewing techniques and helping them with their submissions for the annual Nueces County Junior Farm and Food Show. She also took a lot of pride in the different dinners and parties she planned, organized, and hosted for the different charitable clubs and the board of directors at the home always ensuring the attendees were served new and exciting meals prepared by the professional cooks and the girls of the home showcasing the girls’ cooking talents. Joyce served as a member of the Women’s Auxiliary of Coastal Bend Youth City throughout the 1960s and as president for one school year.

Joyce was the Director of the Robstown High School choir programs for five years from 1969 – 1974 where she took great care to ensure her students were not only taught music but learned it as well, the fruits of her labors demonstrated by the number of students who went on to participate in All-State Choirs at TMEA conventions as well as excelling in the various entries in the annual UIL competitions. Later, after Joyce and J. B. retired from the children’s home, she went on to teach elementary music at Memorial and Escandon Elementary Schools in La Joya from 1990 – 2003. Her sixth grade choirs were recognized every year by being invited to perform at various prestigious venues in the local area demonstrating once more her talents of teaching music to students and corralling them into a finely tuned choir.

“Joycie,” as many of her nieces and nephews referred to her, loved being a part of her church choir and the beautiful melodies that people’s voices created. She was a member of the choir at First Methodist Church in Bishop from 1960-1998, and served as director from 1974-1976. She was a member of the choir at First Methodist Church in Mission from 1999-2003, and from 2003 until her death she was a member of the Chancel Choir at Custer Road United Methodist Church in Plano. She also volunteered in the church music office and on the church switchboard for a few years.

While J. B. was battling cancer, Joyce and he became interested in genealogy often going to the Corpus Christi Public Libraries after his treatments to search through the different microfilm and microfiche records in an effort to trace their families back as far as possible. After J. B. passed in late-1992, Joyce used genealogy to occupy her mind and time while she grieved. The result of her 20+ years of effort is a 400+ page individually-created document for each of her sisters, brothers, and children and many of their cousins tracing certain roots back as far as Charlemagne.

Like many members of her family before her, Joyce, sister Marjorie, some of her children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews inherited Polycystic Kidney Disease. Joyce spent the last four and a half years on renal dialysis, a thrice-weekly treatment in which the blood is drawn from and returned through the arm for four hours at a time while it is cleansed. While on dialysis she enjoyed her extended trips to Corsicana and to Hawai`i because the techs took much better care not to hurt her before, during, and after the treatments. She no longer must endure the pain associated with dialyzing in Plano.

An avid reader, Joyce enjoyed all kinds of books, especially romance and mystery novels. Once on dialysis, she spent her weekly 12-hours of time hooked to a machine to read many more books than she ever had before. About once a quarter she would carry a box of books to the local library and donate them only to turn around and buy as many new books to occupy her time.

Joyce enjoyed beautiful, elegant, and pretty things. When her great granddaughters became interested in having tea parties, Joyce began collecting tea pots of all shapes, sizes, antique and new. She collected tiny porcelain shoes of all shapes and sizes, and she had a passion for setting a beautiful table with elegant china and crystal. She kept an immaculate and well-organized home, her kids often joked with her calling her home sterile instead of clean. She adored beautiful flowers and tried her hand many times at growing them to no success; if it was green she could grow it, but she never mastered flowers.

J. B. and Joyce became Republicans in 1968, and in recent years Joyce became a Fox News Channel junkie sitting in her recliner for hours on end watching, listening, and learning. The only liberal thought she had was on the subject of teacher pay insisting they should be paid more instead of by market value. She was a devout UT alum supporting her school to the end. Much to her chagrin, a family rivalry between Joyce and her Aggie kids and grandkids often had her defending her school over its liberalism. Her kids enjoyed teasing her about it but always knew the line not to cross between fun and making her angry.

Joyce was welcomed into the open arms of Jesus Christ and into the many rooms He’s prepared for us on Monday morning, April 15th. She left us peacefully in her sleep after enjoying an evening dinner with family the night before. Joyce goes on to join J. B., as well as her two oldest brothers, Elbert and Bill, and their wives, Ladelle and Ruth; her brother-in-laws, Jack Felts and Wendell Hancock; a sister-in-law, Jeannie Johnson; brother-in-law, James Moore; and sister-in-law Carolyn Simmons and husband, Murray. She leaves behind her sons and daughter-in-laws, Blake & Patty of Plano and Mark & Sherri of Buffalo; son, Jordan of Centerville; and daughter, Missy Gowan of Richardson. She loved her grandchildren immensely. They are Monica Arabie and husband, David, of Gladstone, QLD, Australia; Caleb Moore and wife, Ashley, of Plano; Scott Moore of Michigan; Brittany Doak and husband, Flint, of Centerville; John Moore of College Station; Justin Grabb of Denton; Jennifer Grabb of Frisco; Anthony Jennings; and Aubrey Gowan of Richardson. In recent years Joyce enjoyed numerous tea parties with her great grand-daughters Nicolette, Evangeline, and Genevieve Arabie. She was also very proud of her great grandsons John Paul Arabie, Jack Moore, Lawson Doak, Brayden Grabb, and the youngest addition to the family, Mia Moore. Joyce’s sisters, brother, and sisters- and brothers-in-law, and cousin helping celebrate her life are sister Marjorie Felts of West; sister Ann Hettinger and husband, Hays, of Rockwall; sister Rebecca Haddock and husband, Jim, of Palestine; brother Richard Johnson and wife, Rosemary, of Teague; sister-in-law Doris Moore of Gainesville; brother-in-law Don Moore and his wife, Fran, of Pageland, SC; sister-in-law Nell Stinson and husband, Bob, of Kingwood; and first cousin Elsie Hensley and husband, John, of San Antonio. As well, numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins join the celebration of her life.

There will be a visitation at Ted Dickey Funeral Home in Plano on Wednesday, April 17, 2013, from 5:00 -7:00 PM. There will also be a visitation at Seaside Funeral Home in Corpus Christi on Friday, April 19, 2013, from 5:00 – 7:00 PM with a service at the First United Methodist Church in Bishop on Saturday, April 20, 2013, at 10:00 AM. En lieu of flowers, the donations may be made to the First United Methodist Church of Bishop – Memorial Fund.