Charles Joyner Obituary

Charles Joyner, 81, a native of South Carolina, passed away September 13, 2016 in Myrtle Beach. He was the son of WG Joyner of Mississippi and Kelly Paul Joyner of the Bucksport area. He was the eldest of six children. His brother Paul died in 2011. His surviving brothers are Bob, John, and David. His sister Cherry Leslie resides in Texas. Also surviving are many beloved cousins.

The growing Joyner family lived in several communities in South Carolina, including Mt. Pleasant. From there, they moved to Myrtle Beach in 1947. When Charles was quite young, he worked for the city of Myrtle Beach as a truck driver. Later he worked in the office of Myrtle Beach Farms, now part of Burroughs and Chapin. He graduated from Myrtle Beach High School in 1952.

Majoring in history and English, Joyner graduated from Presbyterian College. He received a MA and PhD in history from the University of South Carolina. He later earned a PhD in folklore from the University of Pennsylvania. He also did postdoctoral studies at Harvard University.

Joyner spent many years as a college professor. One of his earliest teaching experiences was for Coastal Carolina. In the years before Coastal's campus was built, his history classes were held at Myrtle Beach High School. He taught at both Columbia College and Pfeiffer College, before teaching for fifteen years at St. Andrews Presbyterian College in Laurinburg, NC. In 1980, Joyner returned to Coastal Carolina where in 1984 he published Down by the Riverside: A South Carolina Slave Community. Following its publication he accepted posts at the University of Alabama, the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Mississippi, and the University of Sidney in Australia. Joyner returned to Coastal Carolina in 1998 as Burroughs Distinguished Professor of Southern History and Culture.

Joyner has written books and articles about southern history and culture including studies of communities in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia. Down by the Riverside, the best known of his books, chronicles slave life in the Lowcountry's All Saints Parish community. It has been called "the finest work ever written on American slavery." In Shared Traditions: Southern History and Folk Culture, Joyner explored the intersections of African-American and white cultures and how they have flowed together in Southern history and heritage.

His numerous honors and awards include the Governor's Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Humanities from the South Carolina Humanities Council, the Lifetime Commitment Award from Bluegrass on the Waccamaw, and the National University Press Award. Joyner was one of the first recipients of Coastal Carolina's University Medallion. He also served as president of the Southern Historical Association.

Surviving are his wife Jean Dusenbury Joyner, his son Wesley, his daughter Hannah, her husband David, and their son Abraham.

A memorial gathering will be held in December.

Donations may be sent to the South Caroliniana Library, 910 Sumter Street, University of South Carolina, Columbia SC 29208 or to Coastal Carolina University's History Department, PO Box 261954, Conway SC 29528.

Please sign the family's guestbook at www.goldfinchfuneralhome.com

Goldfinch Funeral Home, Beach Chapel, is in charge of the arrangements.