Elinor Joyce Thornberry

Joyce Cox Thornberry went to be with the Lord January 4, 2017 in her home in McKinney, Texas. She was preceded in death by her husband, Sam Gardner Thornberry, brother Marvin and wife, Willa, and sister Helen.

Joyce grew up in Kingman, Kansas; a daughter of wheat farmer and cattleman parents, James Jehu and Gladys E. Cox. She received her Bachelors of Science in Occupational Therapy from the University of Kansas in Lawrence and did post graduate studies at Columbia University in New York. She worked at the Houston Veterans’ Administration Hospital as a Psych OT for over 40 years, always giving and taking care of others, never thinking of herself first.

Joyce was a talented artist in many disciplines including loom weaving, pottery, leatherwork and jewelry making among many others. She was an avid reader and continued to research medicine until the end of her life.

She is survived by her daughters, Katherine Reed-Thornberry and Julie Erickstad, her sister Jean Cox Mitchell, husband William and son Cotter Mitchell of Lawrence, Kansas, and best friend/cousin Carolyn Newberry and her son Richard of Lees Summit, Missouri. Joyce has grandchildren and great grandchildren including Clint Reed, wife Andraea and their daughters Adelaide and Amelia of Indianapolis; Aaron Stump, wife Wendy and children Hannah, Mateo, and Noah of Fort Worth; Mitchell, Marshall, Ellie, and Caroline Erickstad of Murphy; niece Julie Ohlen, husband Keith and their children Brooke and Hunter; and nephew Chris Jordan, wife Lucille and daughter Barbara.

We will carry loving memories of Joyce Thornberry and rejoice with her that she is now at home and at peace. A funeral service will be held at 2:00 p.m., Sunday, January 8, 2017 at Charles W Smith & Sons Chapel in Sachse with Pastor Robby Greene of Lavon Drive Baptist Church officiating. Visitation will be held at 1:00 p.m., one hour prior to the service. Interment will follow at Sachse Cemetery.