Denise Connelly

Denise "Dee" Evon (Joyce) Connelly, age 61, of Mount Airy, donned her running shoes and giggled and skipped healthily and happily beyond the Pearly Gates from Forsyth Medical Center at 4:02 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 13, 2023. She crossed the finish line breathlessly, yet triumphantly with her arms held high, thus completing the final leg of her amazing race through this life with a time of 22,399 glorious days. Denise was born to the late Iris Jeanette (Moorefield) and the quite present Delmar Ray Joyce on Monday, April 16, 1962, in Mount Airy. She was a 1980 graduate of East Surry High School in Pilot Mountain. While growing up, she attended Indian Grove Baptist Church in Mount Airy and was a member of Blue Hollow Baptist Church in Mount Airy at the time she departed for the next life. She also regularly attended Welcome Baptist Church of Mount Airy. Prior to returning to her hometown in spring 2021, she was a member of GBC in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and had been a member of the First Baptist Church of Reading, Pennsylvania, prior to that. Dee toiled in the knitting mill / garment industry in Mount Airy before obtaining a Medical Assistant's certificate from Surry Community College. She then worked for many years in the medical field and last served as a Podiatric Medical Assistant in Reading. She is survived by her husband of 23 years, CJ Connelly of Mount Airy; her step-daughter and son-in-law, and four grandsons, Cady and Russell Fritch and Benjamin Russell, Ivan James, Johnnie West and Jack Ford Fritch of Atascadero, California; her father, Delmar Ray Joyce of Mount Airy; two sisters, Cheryl and Tim Frye of Mount Airy, and Teresa and Mark Love of Mount Airy; a brother, Brian and Misty Joyce of Mount Airy; three nephews, Travis and Nikki Frye, Kurt Love and Tyler Joyce all of Mount Airy; an aunt, Gaye Martin of Mount Airy and an uncle, Wesley Leon and Gayle Moorefield of York, South Carolina. She also had numerous cousins on the Moorefield / Joyce side that deserve to be mentioned but that space here does not allow for including Tammy Inman and her sons Taylor, Jordan and Hunter Inman. She was preceded in death by her mother, and two brothers, Russell Ray and Darrell Tracy Joyce. She loved you all very much! Denise was an inspiration to those who knew, loved or encountered her along her journey. Challenged with multiple congenital health issues that would afflict her every day of her life, she always had a smile on her face and joy in her heart. Little Miss Sunshine touched the lives of many people and will be sorely missed by all. She had a true love for life and for God and all of His creations. She did not want to go when she was finally called, because there was just so much more that she wanted to do, but she was certainly ready. She had a deep affinity for family and friends, travel, new experiences, cats, the cartoon character "Tigger," caramel frappé's and the color purple. There will be a private viewing for the family at 3 p.m. at Moody Funeral Home in Mount Airy, on Saturday, Aug. 19, and a public viewing at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 20, with a service officiated by Pastor Ricky Martin at 3 p.m., with burial to follow at Indian Grove Baptist Church in Mount Airy. There will also be a celebration of Dee's life following the burial at the new fellowship building at Indian Grove Baptist Church. All are invited. Memorial donations may be made to the charity of choice or to the National Alopecia Areata Foundation (www.naaf.org). Moody Funeral Service in Mount Airy is serving the family.