Gloria McQueen

JOYCE MATTHEWS MCQUEEN

SEPTEMBER 10, 1943 – FEBRUARY 1, 2023

On Wednesday, February 1, 2023, Joyce Matthews McQueen, loving wife, mother, and grandmother passed away at age seventy-nine. Joyce was a fierce and loving woman. In her early years she spent her time running old country roads and playing on farms or in creek beds with her siblings. In later years she spent her time as both a businesswoman and traveler. She took bus trips across the country for the heck of it, flew to different states in puddle jumper planes, and spent time with her friends and her children. In her more recent years, she liked to spend her time in her flower beds, researching her ancestry, writing her books, and spending time with her friends and family. Joyce was preceded in death by her father Lake Matthews, mother Margaret Matthews, and brother Glenn Matthews. She is survived by her husband Johnnie McQueen; brother Wayne Matthews; sister Phyllis Jenkins; son Steve Thomas; daughters Terrie Stanbrook and Timley Shelton; grandsons Frankie Bushong, Tyler Bushong, Kyle Shelton, Chris Pack, Justin Stanbrook, and Mark Thomas; granddaughters Rachel Shelton, Bethany Roye, and Tiffany Thomas; nieces Jennifer Jenkins, Shannon Williams, and Chaily Herce, as well as many, many great-grandchildren, great-nieces, great-nephews, friends, and other loved ones.

“Do not stand at my grave and weep

I am not there; I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow,

I am the diamond glints on snow.

I am the sun on ripened grain,

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the morning’s hush,

I am the swift uplifting rush

Of quiet birds in circled flight.

I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry,

I am not there; I did not die.”

-Mary Elizabeth Frye

A celebration of life will be held at Deltaville Maritime Museum on March 11, 2023 at 2:00pm.