Joyce Iverne (Kent) Hobbs, 81, of Fort Worth, passed away October 17, 2019 from complications of dementia. Joyce was born on March 26, 1938, to Izora (Bedingfield) and Oscar Kent in Alsa, Texas. She graduated from Terrell High School in 1955 prior to attending East Texas State Teacher’s College (now Texas A&M University - Commerce) and accepted a teaching position in Odessa. There, she met and married Leonard J. Hobbs in June 1960, and eventually moved to Midland. They were married for 52 years.
Joyce enjoyed a long, successful career as a teacher in the Midland Independent School District, primarily teaching English and social studies to fifth-graders. She was a member of First Baptist Church, the Norman Reed Chapter 1010 Order of the Eastern Star, and the Zeta Xi Chapter 158 of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International. After retiring from MISD she wrote a collection of poems and a “how-to” manual for new teachers. She loved to read and play Scrabble.
Joyce is preceded in death by her parents and her husband. She is survived by her son Leonard J. Hobbs, Jr.; daughter Celia and husband Rex Burkheimer; brothers John Kent and wife Barbara, Robert Kent and wife Suzie, Floyd Kent and wife Lara; sister Anne (Kent) and husband Hughey Robinson; and many nephews, nieces, cousins and friends. Visitation Friday 4 – 6 p.m. at Ellis Funeral Home, 801 Andrews Highway, Midland, Texas 79701. Service Saturday, October 26, 2019, at 11 a.m. at Resthaven Memorial Park, 4616 N. Big Spring St., Midland, Texas 79705.
Memorial donations may be made to “A Storybook Christmas”, Zeta Xi’s initiative to give books to every first grader in Midland County, at PO Box 8769, Midland, TX 79708.
