Joyce Irby Johnston

On Sunday, December 19th at 10:32 am CST, our beautiful Joyce Irby Johnston left us to be with her Lord. She was born Joyce Marie Irby, to Sidney Jackson Irby Sr. and Mary Therese Irby, on January 16, 1949. She was the oldest of seven siblings: Joyce, Judy, Jackie, June, Sidney Jr, John & Jerri. Yeah you read that right; they are all “J” names….even Little Sid is a JR! In their small 3 bedroom, 1 bath house with 10 people (yes, Nanny Ruby was there too), you could always find laughter, kids fighting, someone else in the bathroom when you really needed to go. If it was time to eat there were a few waiting for “second shift” to sit at the table, there was usually a line formed in the hallway of those awaiting “their turn” to use the phone and never did a day go by that you didn’t hear Momma scream, “I’m gonna tell your Daddy!”. Those were the good old days!

Joyce graduated from Davidson High School and went on to study as a beautician, but ultimately ended up working in accounting/bookkeeping positions throughout her career. She just had the knack for that. She married and gave birth to her one and only child, a daughter. She never needed to have more, because as she was usually, not-so-modestly reminded,….”You got it right the first time”. But in all seriousness, she didn’t need to have more children, because she became surrogate Mother to so many.

Joyce wore a lot of hats and several different titles: Daughter, Sister, Cousin, Wife, Mother, Step-Mother, Aunt & Mimi. Of all these, I believe Mimi was her favorite. With the hustle of working & raising kids slowing down, she got to enjoy being Mimi the most. Her smile was bright, and always the biggest when the door would open and someone would holler “Mimi!!!”.

I don’t believe she ever met a stranger. There were so many times I remember being out with her and she would ask me, “Where do I know them from?”. When I wouldn’t know she would just go up to them and ask, “Where do you know ME from?”. Priceless! And if she didn’t know them before, she definitely did by the time we left. She just had this way of making you feel like family. Blood ties didn’t matter…Love mattered.

Whether you just met her once, shared blood with her or she brought you into the fold and called you “family”, you knew that with her you always had a safe place and that she would go out of her way to help with anything that she could. She was one of a kind and we will carry her in our hearts forever until we meet again!

Please join us for a visitation which will be held on Thursday, December 23, 2021 from 4 pm to 6 pm at Pine Crest Funeral Home on Dauphin Island Parkway in Mobile, AL. A Chapel service and Celebration of Her Life will be on Friday, December 24, 2021 at 9am with Graveside following. Chapel service will also be streaming via Facebook Live on Joyce Irby Johnston’s page. Hope to see you all there either in person or virtually. Let’s celebrate this amazing Lady!

A visitation for Joyce will be held Thursday, December 23, 2021 from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM at Pine Crest Funeral Home, 1939 DAUPHIN ISLAND PKWY, MOBILE, AL 36605. A funeral service will occur Friday, December 24, 2021 from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM, 1939 DAUPHIN ISLAND PKWY, MOBILE, AL 36605. A committal service will occur Friday, December 24, 2021 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM at Pine Crest Cemetery, 1939 DAUPHIN ISLAND PKWY, MOBILE, AL 36605.