Joyce Aileen Hedrick

Joyce Aileen Young Hedrick of Asheville, North Carolina passed away November 24th at the age of 92. As a believer in Christ, she now lives restored with Him in heaven. Joyce was born in Lebanon, Indiana to Bertha Belle Burkle Young and Raymond C. Young. She was preceded in death by her parents, her siblings Stanley Young and Mary Beth Guard, grandson Jordan Hedrick and her loving husband of 68 years, Reginald Lee Hedrick. She is survived by her siblings Warren Young (Jean) of Cary, North Carolina and Carolyn Williams of Corydon, Indiana, four children and their spouses, Brian Hedrick (Mellonee) of Marietta, Georgia, Barbara Burril (Matthew) of Fletcher, North Carolina, Mark Hedrick (Beth) of Asheville, North Carolina and Scott Hedrick (Delaney) of Cooper City, Florida; fourteen grandchildren and their spouses Michaela Avery (Pete), Aaron Hedrick, Luke Hedrick (Leah), Jacob Hedrick, Bridget Langley (Braden), Julie Bohannon (Charles), Laura Lee Rorabaugh (Jonathan), Valerie Mormando (Austin), Lauren Ware (Matt), Paige Wimmer (Trey), Blake Hedrick (Emily), Nicole Hedrick, Jenna Hedrick and Brooke Hedrick; and sixteen great-grandchildren. Joyce lived her life in service to the Lord, her family and community, believing that “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms” I Peter 4:10.

Joyce grew up in rural Indiana as the oldest of five children where she worked on the family farm, was an active member of 4-H Club and president of her Montmorenci High School class of 16 students! She completed her B.S. in Home Economics at Purdue University where she was a member of Phi Mu Sorority. After graduation and marriage to Reggie, she taught Home Economics and Physical Education in Indiana, Georgia, and Florida, but she would say her true calling in life was to home, family, and community, retiring from teaching to stay home to raise their four children. Joyce enjoyed leading parenting classes and Friendship Bible Coffee groups. She and Reggie hosted many foreign exchange students and their families. She was a board member for Christian Women’s Club and Pine Forest Methodist Church, where she sang in the choir and taught Sunday School classes. She served in the Dublin Service League and as American Red Cross Bloodmobile Chairman. She was named Woman of the Year in 1985 and Civitan Club Citizen of the Year in 1988 in their hometown of Dublin, Georgia. After Reggie’s retirement, they enjoyed travelling the country in their motorhome, attending RV rallies, and visiting friends and family in most of the contiguous United States. In between trips, she joyfully spent time as Mom and Meemom with her beloved children and grandchildren! She remained active in their home church and in various committees and clubs in their retirement communities of Lake Ashton in Lake Wales, Florida and Deerfield in Asheville, North Carolina.

The family would like to thank all the administrative, healthcare and support staff at Deerfield Retirement Community, St. Giles Chapel, and Four Seasons Hospice for their excellent, compassionate care of Joyce during the final years of her life. They treated her and us like family and we are grateful.

The Celebration of Life will be held Saturday, January 17 at Arden Presbyterian Church in Arden, North Carolina. Visitation is at 3:00 PM and the service is at 4:00 PM. The service will be available by live stream by clicking on “Live Webcast” at https://www.ardenpreschurch.com/ prior to the service time.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests that donations in her memory be made to the following organizations:

Scalpel at the Cross, the Christian medical mission work in the Peruvian Amazon region of South America done by son Mark Hedrick.

https://scalpelatthecross.org/donate/

CRU, Campus Crusade for Christ, the Christian missions work for college students of granddaughter Michaela Hedrick Avery and Peter Avery.

https://give.cru.org/0579533

Employee Scholarship Fund at Deerfield Retirement Community (Joyce was a big advocate of this fund, serving on this committee while at Deerfield.)

https://deerfieldwnc.org/charitable-foundation/#h-foundation-funds-amp-projects