Elaine Elizabeth Joiner, age 90, went to be with the Lord on February 26, 2018, in the loving and caring community of MRC Crestview Retirement Center in Bryan, Texas. She was born in San Antonio, Texas, on August 7, 1927, the third of four children.
She is survived by her sister Edwina Giltner Robinette, four children: Judy (married to Dr. Rafael Cardenas), Larry (married to Dr. Helen Lee Joiner), Donna (married to Rev. Jim Sliger), Kathy (married to Rev. Todd Rogers), nine grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren, as well as many nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Julius X-Ray Giltner and Rosa McDade Giltner, and two of her siblings, Kenneth Giltner and Thomas Giltner.
Elaine Joiner's life was characterized by one of continual service to the Lord here in the United States and abroad. She was always grateful that her grandmother took her to Calvary Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas. There she attended Girl's in Action and Acteens where learned about missions and missionaries. At a young age she felt called to the mission field. After graduating from Baylor University she married Garreth Elbert Joiner on June 24, 1948, and entered Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary where she received a Master's of Religious Education Degree.
Elaine and Garreth felt the call for full-time missionary work after Garreth served in the pastorate in a couple of churches in Texas. They then presented themselves for appointment as missionaries to Ecuador by the Baptist Foreign Mission Board in 1950. For almost 40 years Elaine and her husband, Rev. Joiner, evangelized, planted congregations, and built churches. They also started schools and Bible institutes all the way from the Andes to the Pacific coast and finally in the Amazon River Basin of Ecuador. All four of their children were born in Ecuador.
Elaine became very fluent in Spanish and knowledgeable of the Ecuadorian culture. She was well-respected by her missionary colleagues and loved by the people of Ecuador whom she also grew to love deeply. In 1989 they retired from full-time service in Ecuador but continued to use their time to enable other missionaries to take furloughs so as not to leave the work unattended. They filled in for them on various occasions in Ecuador, Curacao, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. In her late 70's Elaine and Rev. Joiner traveled twice to Chengdu, China, to teach English in the university during a summer program which opened the doors for further friendships that led people to a saving knowledge of Christ.
Life for Elaine Joiner not only involved teaching young ladies at a reform school, actively training women in missions in the local churches, teaching Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, piano lessons, and playing the piano at church, but also spending time with family on beach outings, and reading bedtime stories to her children. She spent time providing an inviting home for her family and guests. She taught her daughters to make cookies and to sew and knit.
The Joiner family would like to extend our gratitude to all the staff at Crestview Retirement Community in Bryan, and specifically those in the skilled nursing ward for their attentiveness and loving care.
The family will receive friends from 5 – 8 PM, Friday, March 2nd at Memorial Funeral Chapel in College Station. A funeral service to celebrate Elaine’s life is scheduled for 10:00 AM, Saturday, March 3rd at Memorial Funeral Chapel in College Station. Interment will follow at College Station Cemetery.
