Peggy Joyce Nobles Hodges

was born on January 9, 1942, in Cumberland County, NC, to the late CL and Margaret Nobles. She shared a birthday with her identical twin sister, Jean.

A beloved sister, wife, mother, grandmother, and friend, Joyce was known for her kind and gentle spirit, deep love for and devotion to her family, and commitment to her Christian faith and service to others. She was a joyful, friendly person with a warm, sincere smile and words of encouragement for everyone around her.

Joyce grew up on a farm living next door to her maternal grandparents, who helped raise her and her siblings. Her father, a World War II Navy veteran, was a tenant farmer for several years before becoming employed with the NC Department of Transportation, where he worked until his retirement. Her mother was a homemaker.

Joyce first met her future husband, Michael, when she was in the seventh grade, they later became high school sweethearts. They were married on August 18, 1963, and recently celebrated their 58th anniversary. Throughout their time together, Joyce and Michael were the love of one another’s life and nearly inseparable. After Michael finished college, they moved to Raleigh, NC, and later to Cary, NC. In 2005, they moved to Clayton, NC, to be closer to family and lived down the street from their daughter and grandchildren.

When her first grandchild was born, Joyce retired from her job as the office manager for an engineering sales firm to become a full-time, doting grandma. She helped raise both her grandchildren and spent countless hours caring for them, playing with them, picking them up from school, attending their performances, celebrating birthdays and holidays together, vacationing with them, and so much more. She was also involved in all of her daughter’s activities when she was growing up, always willing to serve as a volunteer when help was needed.

Joyce grew up a child of the church, singing in the choir, attending Sunday School, and actively involved in all church life. As an adult, she held babies and played with toddlers in the nursery, taught Sunday School, served at fellowship dinners and church events, volunteered at Vacation Bible School, took meals to families in need, assisted Michael with church maintenance, and participated in numerous Bible studies over the years.

An accomplished gardener, Joyce could make any plant grow and flourish, and her meticulously landscaped yard was the envy of the neighborhood. As a young mother, she grew a large garden, canned her own vegetables, and made homemade jelly. She also loved to sew and made many, many outfits, costumes, blankets, linens, and more for her family and friends over the years. She sewed curtains, table and kitchen linens, bed coverings, and pillows for every home she and Michael shared and for her daughter’s homes, as well. She was also talented in cross-stitch and needlepoint.

Joyce enjoyed traveling and went on 17 cruises with her sisters and their husbands, along with a couple Disney cruises with her daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren. She loved vacations at Oak Island, NC and Disney World with her family, traveling the country with Michael on his business trips, and weekend getaways to the mountains and to Beaufort, NC. An avid jogger and a regular gym goer for many years, Joyce enjoyed Zoomba into her 70s.

Joyce is survived by her husband Michael; daughter Joye Hodges Douthart and son-in-law Chuck Douthart; and grandchildren Ryan and Rebecca Douthart. She is also survived by her sister Judy Faulkner, Judy’s children and grandchildren; her brother Alan Nobles and sister-in-law Martha, their children and grandchildren; her twin sister’s children and their families; her brother-in-law Steve Carver and wife Norma, and Steve’s children and grandchildren; former sister-in-law Anne Carver, and numerous cousins across in the Nobles, Starling, and Carver families. She was preceded in death by her twin Barbara Jean Pritchett; brother-in-law Franklin Faulkner; sister-in-law Jenny Carver; parents CL and Margaret Nobles; grandparents Reginald and Julia Atkins; and best friend Joanne Allamon.

A Service of Witness to the Resurrection will be held on Saturday, September 18 at 2:00 p.m., at McLaurin Funeral Home at Pinecrest Memorial Park in Clayton, NC, located at 12830 US 70 Business Hwy W, Clayton, NC 27520. All are welcome.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a gift in Joyce’s memory to the Johnston Health Foundation Hospice Fund. Your gift will help cover hospice care for patients with financial needs. Visit www.johnstonhealth.org/donate and select “Hospice Fund.” Or, you may mail a check to Johnston Health Foundation, PO Box 1376, Smithfield, NC 27577. Be sure to write “Hospice Fund” on the memo line.

On line condolences may be made to the family at: www.mclaurinatpinecrest.com.

McLaurin Funeral Home is honored to be assisting the Hodges family.