Joy Vernon (Lebanon)'s Obituary
Joy Vernon, daughter of Curtis E. and Nancy J. Carroll Hagood, was born August 31, 1930, in Shreveport, Louisiana. She departed this life Thursday, September 16, 2010, in St. John’s Hospital, in Springfield, Missouri, at the age of eighty years, and fifteen days.
On July 6, 1952, she was united in marriage to Bill Dean Vernon, and to this union one son and one daughter were born.
She was preceded in death by her parents; a sister, Gloria Whittington; her step-father, Leo Oliver; and a step-sister, Margaret Oliver.
Joy is survived by her husband of fifty-eight years, Bill, of the home; a son, Richard Vernon, of Springfield, Missouri; a daughter, Diane Wolfson, and her husband, Jeffrey, of Lebanon, Missouri; four grandchildren, Vanessa, Adam, Britani, and Austen; two great-grandchildren, Joey and Connor; a sister, Patsy Perritt, and her husband, Ron, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana; two step-brothers; a step-sister; several nieces and nephews; as well as a host of other relatives and friends.
She was born and raised in Shreveport, Louisiana, where her step-father was a Christian minister. She met her future husband, Bill, at a church camp, near Joplin, Missouri, and they both attended Ozark Christian College. Soon after graduating, they were married and Joy became a devoted homemaker and loving mother to her family. In addition, she was also a supportive minister’s wife, and was very active in the Vernon Family ministry for a number of years. She was a gifted musician, playing the organ, piano, and vibraphone, and also singing, and had made an album of her music, “Songs of Joy”. Later, she and her daughter, Diane, opened “Sew Crafty”, a counted cross stitch and custom framing business in Springfield. She always loved a challenge, and decided to go back to school, and then worked at Sam’s Wholesale Club for a time.
Joy made her profession of faith in Christ early in her life and was always beside her husband wherever they were called to minister. She was currently a member of Tuscumbia Christian Church, in Tuscumbia, Missouri.
She enjoyed painting and doing craft projects in her spare time and liked making dolls, which she lovingly gave away. She and Bill liked to travel and had taken trips all across the world. She made her faith and her family the center of her life and especially enjoyed her grandchildren and great-grandsons.
Joy was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, and aunt, and was a caring neighbor and friend. We celebrate her life and her accomplishments and will cherish the wonderful memories she created for her family and friends.
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