Joyce June Singleton Wall

Joyce S. Wall

June 25, 1929 – January 28, 2026

Joyce June Singleton Wall of Waynesburg, Ky., entered heavenly rest on January 28, 2026, surrounded by family. Her 96 years of life are marked by her selfless service to others – including living and working on farms, teaching elementary school, being part of a church community, participating in the Eastern Star, and loving her family well.

Joyce was born June 25, 1929, to Oris and Mayme Singleton on their farm in southern Lincoln County. The oldest of 11 children, Joyce and her siblings spent much of their childhood working on the farm and caring for neighbors. She would milk cows each day before school with her brother and her dad, no matter the weather. When company was planning to come over, she had to get a chicken ready for dinner – chasing it down, wringing its neck, and plucking its feathers – before she even ate breakfast. Near the end of the Great Depression, she raised a runt pig and sold it to buy a battery-powered radio, leading to a lifelong love of listening to Kentucky basketball games.

Joyce graduated from Waynesburg High School in 1947 as class valedictorian. She went on to attend Berea College that fall to study to be a teacher, and she also worked at Boone Tavern while there. Because of a teacher shortage, she decided to leave before graduation and accepted an offer to teach in the area where she grew up.

She first taught at Ellison Rural School, but she spent more than 30 years teaching at Waynesburg Elementary. Joyce loved teaching and always wanted to be the best teacher that she could be. She once wrote how excited she was to take a child from where they were to as far as they could comfortably go while in her classroom. And, if a student had a loose tooth, she would happily help them pull it.

In 1949, she began her courtship with Marvin Wall. A World War II veteran, he offered to drive her home after the Sunday evening service at Double Springs Baptist Church. She and her siblings usually walked home after service, so Joyce said she needed to see them home. He said they could ride, too. That drive home led to more drives home and then marriage on December 2 of the same year. They shared farm life, three children, countless memories, and 44 years together before Marvin passed away in 1993.

A lifelong member of Double Springs Baptist Church in Waynesburg, Joyce spent decades keeping church minutes, creating the bulletins for services, and going in early to help with the records. She also served as church clerk, taught various Sunday school classes, led Vacation Bible School, worked in the food pantry, chaired the 200th anniversary celebration of the church, and attended every Sunday, ready to sing in the choir or do whatever needed to be done. She prayed daily, and she said the most important decision she ever made was professing her faith in Jesus Christ as the son of God and her Lord and Savior.

Joyce decided to finish her college degree while she continued to teach. She enrolled in Eastern Kentucky University and graduated in 1961 with a bachelor of science in Elementary Education. Joyce retired from teaching in 1986, which gave her more time to engage in many other activities.

A member of the Order of the Eastern Star for more than 70 years, she served a term as Worthy Grand Matron for the Grand Chapter of Kentucky from 1989-1990. During her decades in the Eastern Star, she was a faithful member of the Waynesburg Chapter of OES, and she traveled the state serving in various capacities.

Joyce stayed active her entire life, and she used her years outside of the classroom to engage in interests without being on a planned schedule. She was often participating in Eastern Star, attending meetings of the Kentucky Retired Teachers Association, serving at church, and being involved in the lives of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. People often came to her when they needed to know some history – be it about the church, local schools, names of various family members, or Waynesburg history in general. She also led workshops, helped edit newsletters, and served as president of various teacher associations throughout her lifetime and career.

There was no one more dependable, more loving, and more steadfast than Joyce Wall. When asked what she was most proud of, Joyce said rearing her three children.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Marvin, and she is survived by her three children: Annelle (Larry), Rhonda (Doug) Crowe, and Julian (Glenda) Wall; her siblings Jim Singleton, Shirley Free, Dwight (Betty) Singleton, and Evonna (Ranny) McGuffey; and her sister-in-law Pauline Wall. She is also survived by her nine grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren.

In addition to her husband and her parents, she was preceded in death by her siblings Anne Nita Rankin, Blaine Singleton, Bryn Singleton, Sharon New, Ardith Schwuchow, and Karen Dale Caudill.

She hoped to be remembered as a good Mom, a good "Granny Wall," a good teacher, and a good citizen.

She was all of those things and more.

Public Visitations will be held 5-8 PM, Thursday, February 5, 2026, and 11 AM-1 PM, Friday February 6, 2026, at Double Springs Baptist Church.

A Public Funeral Service will be held 1 PM Friday, at the church. An Order of the Eastern Star Memorial Service will begin the funeral service. Dr. Brad King and Dr. Brandon Crowe will officiate the service, with music performed by Julie Shepherd. The service will be live streamed on Joyce's memorial page on the funeral home's website.

Burial will follow in Double Springs Cemetery. Active pallbearers will be Kevin Hudson, Keith Hudson, Brad Wall, Byron Wall, Brandon Crowe, Blaine VanGansbeke, Jim Alford, and Dr. Brett VanGansbeke. Honorary pallbearers will be Riley Hodge, Randy Brown, Joe Leach, David Garrison, Jesse Manning, Darrell Withers, Rocky Singleton, and John Moore.

Memorial contributions suggested to Double Springs Baptist Church c/o Benevolence Fund, 770 KY HWY 3276, Waynesburg, KY 40489; or The Lincoln County Educational Fund, Inc. PO Box 423, Stanford, KY 40484.

Barnett, Demrow & Friend Funeral Home, Waynesburg, KY is entrusted with Joyce's arrangements. Guest book at www.friendfuneralhomes.com.