Joyce Ann Thompson McAnear was born April 30, 1932, in Sweetwater, Texas, to Herman Lovvorn Thompson and Mary Ann McLennan Thompson. She went to be with her Lord and Savior on Dec. 14, 2020. Joyce was 88.

Joyce was raised by her paternal grandparents, Uzell DeMarcus Thompson and Nancy Ida Lovvorn Thompson, from the age of two to adulthood in Stamford, Texas. She graduated from Stamford High School as a member of the Class of 1949. She then attended Hardin Simmons University in Abilene, Texas where she received a bachelor’s degree one education in 1953. She received a Master of Science in Education from Alcorn State University in 1986.

Joyce is a member of the First Baptist Church of Vicksburg. Her call to teaching started when she was a young teenager and began helping on Sundays in the Sunday school of the First Baptist Church of Stamford, Texas. Any church she was a member of in the future she requested to work in the First Grade Sunday school. She loved sharing the word of God with the children and opening their hearts to a lifelong loving relationship with our Lord. She was also a member of Wedgewood Baptist Church in Ft. Worth, Texas and Terry Parker Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla. when living in those towns. Her favorite hymn is ‘Share His Love”.

Teaching was not a job but a calling for Joyce, she was a true ‘teacher.’ She began her teaching career in Lubbock, Texas teaching first grade. She taught kindergarten in Jacksonville, Fla. After moving to Mississippi in 1969, Joyce began teaching vocabulary and pharmacology to nursing students in Vicksburg. She would travel to the three hospitals (Vicksburg Hospital, Khun Memorial, and Mercy Hospital) to teach the classes. When Hinds Junior College built a campus extension in Vicksburg, Joyce then taught the classes in that location. Along with nursing, she began teaching postsecondary classes in reading and mathematics. She retired from Hinds Community College in 2010. Joyce worked additional years teaching as an adjunct professor before retiring fully in 2013.

Joyce is preceded in death by her mother, Mary Ann McLennan Thompson; her father, Herman Lovvorn Thompson; her brother, H.L. Thompson; and her husband, Clifford LeRoy McAnear.

She will be lovingly remembered by her sister, Sara Nan Grubb (Jim); son, Roy Kwin McAnear (Brenda); daughter, Mary Ann McAnear Stewart (Phillip); grandchildren, Cliff McAnear, Shaughn “Rusty” Stewart (Sarah), Michael Stewart (Chelsea), Katie Lynn Stewart; great-grandchildren, Shauna Stewart, Shylah Stewart, Caleb Stewart, Logan McAnear and Felicity Ann McAnear; a niece, Dr. Nancy K. Thompson (Danny); and nephews, David Thompson and Gary Thompson (Lynda), as well as many other very much loved relatives and friends.

Joyce will be laid to rest in the Elmwood Cemetery, Bowie, Texas.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to First Baptist Church Vicksburg, MS, 1600 Cherry St., Vicksburg, MS 39180 or M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, TX 77030.