Mary Evelyn Y. Joiner

A Celebration of Life Service for Evelyn York Joiner will be held on Saturday, May 20, 2023, at 1:00 P.M., in the Moore Chapel of Peachtree Road United Methodist Church, Atlanta, GA. Mrs. Joiner passed away peacefully at age 90 on Tuesday, May 9, 2023 after a long illness. She was the wife of the late John T. Joiner, her beloved husband of fifty-two years and was born in Cartersville, GA, to Rev. Arthur W. (Buddy) York and Ruby Edwards York, who predeceased her. She was also predeceased by her sisters Betty Rose York Colwell and Virginia York Reynolds, and brother-in-law Julian Reynolds. Evelyn grew up in Cedartown, GA, where her father was pastor of the Second Baptist Church. After graduating from Cedartown High School, she enrolled at Tift College, and earned a B.A. in English degree in 1956.

While at Tift, she was active in many organizations, but was proudest of her election as class president for all four years, her selection to Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges in 1956, and of the scholarship she received to the Duke University Graduate School, where she earned a Master’s degree in English in 1957. She moved to Atlanta and taught one year at Grady High School. In 1958 she accepted the position of Associate Professor of English in the Tift College Extension at Georgia Baptist Hospital School of Nursing, a position she held from 1958-1962. While attending the First Baptist Church of Atlanta, she met “the love of her life,” John T. Joiner, a young accountant with a local CPA firm. They were married in 1959, settled in Atlanta, and raised their children, Celene and Kyle, in DeKalb County. In 1965 she was awarded inclusion in Outstanding Young Women of America. Her activities during these years included participating in the P.T.A. of their schools, supporting their baseball and swim teams, scouts and music activities, teaching Sunday School, and participating in the music programs at Briarcliff and Briarlake Baptist Churches. Beginning when Celene and Kyle were in high school, she worked as Office Manager in John’s CPA firm until he retired in 2011.

Evelyn and John enjoyed attending home games of the Georgia Bulldogs for fifty years, and traveling with their children to 48 of the 50 States. They celebrated their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary in Hawaii, and enjoyed other trips to Alaska, Canada, Bermuda, and several European countries. Her hobbies included interior design and collecting antiques and furnishings for their Atlanta home and their home on Lake

Oconee, where they loved hosting holiday events. Tracing the genealogy of the York, Edwards, and Joiner families included her writing the Memoirs of her parents and her husband. She was active as president and board member of the Tift College Alumnae Association and as a member of the Tift College of Mercer University Alumnae Board after the merger of the two schools. In 2008 she was the recipient of their Meritorious Service Award. For years she and her husband were members of the Mercer President’s Club. In 2014 she was named a Life Member of the Mercer President’s Club.

Mrs. Joiner was a member of Peachtree Road United Methodist Church. She is survived by her daughter, Celene Joiner, of Atlanta; her son and his wife, Kyle and Catherine Joiner, of Roswell; and her brother-in-law Olin Colwell of Sea Island; three nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews, and many beloved cousins.

The family will receive friends in the Hospitality Suite immediately following the service. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in her memory to the Music Ministry of Peachtree Road United Methodist Church.