She and her family moved to Perryton, Texas at the beginning of the Great Depression where her father owned and ran the Boston Grocery. Joan worked in her father’s store there. In school she became skilled in reciting poetry and public speaking. In 1944, she briefly attended West Texas State University and North Texas State Teacher’s College before completing a course of study at Draughon’s Business College. In 1947, she married Bernie Thames and had one son, James Newton Thames.
In 1951, Joan began working for the Texas Employment Commission in Dallas. There she met and married her second husband, Dayton M. Carrell, in 1955. She bore a second son, William Carrell, while living in Lamesa, Texas in 1956. Joan and family moved to El Paso and then Austin following Dayton’s promotions and transfers with the Texas Employment Commission. She lived in Austin for 48 years prior to moving to Temple.
Joan was a committed Christian, homemaker, and mother to her two sons. She was active in the life of the church as a choir member, Sunday School teacher, and Women’s Missionary Union leader. She was a Cub Scout den mother twice and actively supported her sons in their many activities.
After Dayton’s retirement, she supported his genealogical research and helped him organize numerous Carrell reunions.
Joan had a deep love for God and for the Bible, which she read and studied constantly. She loved to memorize Scripture and quote lengthy passages, especially the Psalms. She loved singing and playing hymns on the piano. She also loved to create Christian lyrics to common songs – most notably “Let Me Call You Savior” to the tune of “Let Me Call You Sweetheart.”
Joan was preceded in death by her mother, Tommie Jo Boston and her father, William Moody Boston, by her two husbands Bernie Thames and Dayton Carrell, and by her oldest son, James Thames. She is survived by her son William (Bill) Carrell and his wife Martha, and by three grandsons: Tommie Thames, Adam Dayton Carrell, and Nathaniel Norman Carrell and his wife Megan, and by two great grandsons, Nathaniel Everett Carrell and Beau Ross Carrell.
The family expresses profound thanks to all of Joan’s caregivers. A public visitation will be held from 10:00 am – 11:00 am on Saturday, October 3, 2026, at Scanio-Harper Funeral Home. A private interment will be held in Locker, Texas. A memorial service will be held later at Meadow Oaks Baptist Church in Temple.
