Joyce Person Obituary

Joyce Person CHARLESTON - Joyce Ann Lyons Person, of Charleston, South Carolina, passed away on April 24, 2023. Born in An- derson, South Carolina in 1937, she was raised by John and Willa Lyons in Gastonia, North Carolina. While a high school teacher in Fayetteville, NC, she met the man she would spend her life with, Harmon Person. After marrying, they moved to Fort Thomas, KY. She and her husband of 59 years raised their two children there before retiring to the Lowcountry of South Carolina. Her older sister, Virginia Kraft, and younger brother, William Lyons, both preceded her in death. She graduated from Gastonia High School and attended Lenoir Rhyne College before transferring to East Carolina Teachers College (now ECU), where she earned her Bachelor's degree in 1961. She maintained lifelong friendships with people from each school. Joyce enjoyed dancing very much. She travelled with her high school and college friends to Myrtle Beach, where they would shag at the Pavilion. She loved being in groups of people and found much of her joy in life in throwing parties for family and friends. Joyce was active in the Youth Haven Guild of Northern Kentucky and supported the Wood Hudson Cancer Research Center. Each year, she could be found behind the jewelry counter of the Grace's Church Mouse Boutique, where profits were allotted to local non-profit organizations. Joyce was both a school- teacher and a Real Estate Agent/Broker during her pro- fessional life. She loved to gar- den, and every year designed and planted new and ever-ex- panding flower gardens around her home. A lifelong bridge player, Joyce rose to the level of bronze life master, and for many years she played competitively in Charleston as well as travelled to regional Bridge tournaments. She made friends quickly and easily and often found connections between her life and the lives of those she met along the way. She and her husband were both avid travelers and, in their life, traveled to all 50 US states, Canada, Mexico, Cen- tral America, Europe, and Africa. She was very active in the churches in which she was a member throughout her life: St. Andrews Episcopal in Fort Thomas, Kentucky, Trinity Episcopal Church on Edisto Is- land, SC, and, most recently, Grace Church Cathedral in Charleston, South Carolina. She drew great strength from her churches and the people that filled them. She is sur- vived by her husband, Har- mon, her son, Scott and wife, Samantha, and her daughter, Mary and husband, Matt. A service to celebrate her life and reception will be held at Grace Church Cathedral on May 2 at 2pm. In lieu of flow- ers, please consider a donation in her memory to The Cattery in Corpus Christi, TX, Grace's Church Mouse Boutique, or the Fort Thomas Education. Visit our guestbook at legacy.com/obituaries/charleston