This bird didn’t wait to be cast out of the nest. Joyce Ellen Clayton left her home in the bucolic Rushing Community (near Dover, Arkansas) the day after she graduated from Dover High School. Leaving for the “big city” of Little Rock, she enrolled in Draughon’s School of Business secretarial program, while serving and living with a local family as their nanny.
Born at the heights of the Great Depression, then living through the challenging years that followed, she was ready to launch off on her own. After completing Draughan’s, Joyce flew yet again, traveling across the country to begin her career at Boeing Aircraft in Washington State. After a couple of years, however, the lure of family and familiarity drew Joyce back east. She transferred to the Boeing Division based in Wichita, Kansas, where she lived with her beloved Uncle Carl and Aunt Imogene.
It was while being in Kansas that she met the love of her life, a handsome young sailor stationed in nearby Manhattan, Kansas. Six months later, Tommy (T.O.) and Joyce were married on April Fool’s Day 1955 and began their 67-year adventure together. They traveled the country while Thomas was in the Navy, from California to Florida and several points in between. Joyce shared a love of bowling with T.O. during those years, although he couldn’t have claimed to have won the number of Naval championship trophies she did. Their love affair never ended, as evidenced by Thomas being reduced to a puddle of goo every time she walked into the room.
During and after T.O.s’ many transfers and eventual military retirement, Joyce was able to find continual employment in her chosen secretarial field at various governmental organizations. As a result, she realized her own retirement milestone with 20+ years of service in 1988.
She always did value a hard day’s work, surely instilled in her at an early age. Joe and Isabelle labored sunup to sundown running their farm, teaching their only daughter by example. Joyce carried forward this no nonsense attitude. When Keith (about seven years old) announced he was leaving home, Joyce immediately packed him a bag, met him at the front door with two quarters and wished him luck. She cautioned that it was a hard, cold world out there and he should work hard and buy land. After a couple of trips around the block, Keith sheepishly returned and that encounter was never repeated.
That’s not to say that she didn’t enjoy indulging in light hearted fare, by any means. Photoplay Magazine populated her side tables in the 1960s, followed by the reliable People Magazine later. Joyce enjoyed nothing more than curling up, snacking on a piece of fruit and turning on Carol Burnett or Johnny Carson.
Being the forever sailor he was, T.O. longed to retire somewhere on the water. They settled on beautiful Perdido Bay in Lillian, Alabama and were gifted with 33 years there together. Joyce and T.O. made it their mission to spend weekends checking out yard, garage and estate sales. They then frequented every auction that Wilbur (WRMM Enterprises) held during the week. T.O. and Joyce also greatly enjoyed retirement by going on camping excursions with T.O.’s siblings and their spouses. And being the adventurers they were, a year of their “retirement” was spent in Plzen, Czechoslovakia as English teachers.
Joyce will be deeply missed by her son Greg, loving son-in-law Bill Ward, son Keith and grandson Jacob Palkowetz. She will return home to the Rushing Community Cemetery to be placed next to her son Timothy (who passed away as an infant in 1960), and her mother and father.
A celebration of life will be held at the Rushing Cemetery pavilion on Saturday, October 31st at 2:00 pm to share memories of Joyce with friends and family.
To plant a beautiful memorial tree in memory of Joyce Ellen Pendleton, please visit our Tree Store.
