Joyce M. Sandlin

Last night I lay a-sleeping

There came a dream so fair,

I stood in old Jerusalem

Beside the temple there.

I heard the children singing,

And ever as they sang,

Me thought the voice of angels,

From heaven in answer rang.

A new voice has joined the choir of angels in The Holy City Hymn. The natural alto tone of beloved mother, Nana and great-grandmother, Joyce Sandlin, 83, of Lake Jackson, joined heaven’s choir Friday, June 24, 2011. Joyce Andrews Sandlin, born April 11, 1928, was the beloved only child of Willie Mae and Tracy Andrews. Joyce was raised on a farm in the Prairie Valley community just outside of Whitney, Texas, by God-fearing, hard working people who adored her and cherished her intelligence and talents. Along with her beautiful voice, Joyce loved to dance, to play the piano and to read. She was a true scholar, graduating from high school at the age of 15, attending Hill County Junior College and going on to North Texas State in Denton. And because Joyce was only 17 at the time, her mother accompanied her and was her college roommate. They both received their Master’s Degrees in Education at the same graduation ceremony. Education, always at the center of Joyce’s life, introduced her to her husband of almost sixty years, Billy Sandlin, while they were both teaching in Whitney. As the story goes, Billy was the after school bus driver and Joyce had bus duty, and from then on, they rode though life together teaching in Burkburnett, Texas, for one year before moving to Lake Jackson to teach in Brazosport Independent School District in 1953. Joyce Sandlin was a much loved and admired teacher of fifth and sixth grade science at Lake Jackson Junior High and then Intermediate School until her retirement. Joyce and Billy Sandlin were blessed to have their daughter and only child, Becky, who gave them the lights of their lives, their grandsons, Andrew, Patrick and Matthew. Nana, as she was loving called, wanted to, and had to be, part of every sporting event, meet the teacher day, school supply shopping, open house, school carnival, school clothes shopping, church activity, etc. She proudly braved frozen Saturday mornings on the soccer field, rainy football bleachers, and windy baseball games all while sporting her basketball, baseball, and football earrings on each occasion. She relished every moment spent with her grandsons and was their cheerleader, their confidant, and their mentor. Perhaps this was the role that Joyce Sandlin was the most proud of and that she cherished above all else. Joyce Sandlin was a devout member of Willow Drive Baptist Church; a proud member of the Eta Omega chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma, a professional honorary society of women educators; the Wednesday Review Club; The Order of the Eastern Star and Beta Sigma Phi. Joyce Andrews Sandlin was preceded in death by her parents Tracy and Willie Mae Andrews, brother Tracy Odell Andrews, and dear grandson Andrew Gore. Survivors include her loving husband Billy Sandlin; daughter Becky Gore-LaRoche (husband Howard); grandsons Patrick Gore (wife Lindsey) and Matthew Gore; great granddaughter McClain Mahvi Gore; in-laws James and Frances Sandlin and June Roderick; numerous cousins, nieces and nephews; ‘adopted daughter’ Jane Trahan and special family friend Mary Johnson. Joyce Sandlin also leaves behind a community of loving friends and former students, whose lives she enriched as their mentor, educator and true friend. A public viewing for family and friends will be held Monday, June 27, 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM, at Willow Drive Baptist Church in Lake Jackson, Texas, with the funeral service beginning at 4:00 PM. The committal and entombment ceremony will follow at Restwood Memorial Park Mausoleum in Lake Jackson. Pallbearers include John C. Wycoff, Gary Gore, Don Sandlin, Ken Sprinkle, Tommy Worley, and Dickie Strickland. In lieu of flowers, the family request donations be given to the Brazosport Center for the Arts and Sciences or the charity of your choice. Services are under the direction of Restwood Funeral Home & Memorial Park, Clute, Texas.