Joyce Carlton

1923 - 2017

CARLTON, Joyce Jackson 93, of Vero Beach, Florida passed away peacefully on July 17, 2017. Joyce was born on November 6, 1923 in Birmingham, Alabama to John Andrew Jackson and Drucilla Moss Jackson. She had a younger brother Jerald, who predeceased her. Joyce grew up in Columbiana, Alabama, a small town south of Birmingham during the Depression. Her father, Andrew, was a Lincoln Republican who was elected Sheriff for Shelby County around 1919; the only Republican sheriff then in post-Reconstruction Alabama prior to 1968. Joyce attended the University of Alabama and received her B.A. and Masters Degrees in History. She wrote her Master's Thesis on the Shelby County Iron Works which was a major foundry for the Confederacy during the Civil War. She received national recognition for her scholarship and was awarded trips to New York and Washington, D.C. to read her thesis. She later began teaching history and English at Sylacauga High School in Sylacauga, AL in 1948, where she met the love of her life, Stewart Carlton, a newly-hired teacher and coach. After an old-fashioned courtship they married in 1949, and shortly thereafter moved to Crestview, FL for a year before finally settling in Vero Beach in 1952. Joyce taught English at Vero High from 1952 to 1968. In the days before AP tests and college preparatory courses, Joyce prepared her high school students for college by instructing them in the now lost art of diagramming sentences and assigning the classic works of William Shakespeare. She was recognized by returning students as a mentor who prepared them well for the rigors and expectations of college academics. After receiving a second Masters in Library Science from Appalachian State in Boone, NC, Joyce became a librarian to devote more personal time and attention to her sons Gary and Steve. Joyce's final move occurred in 1972 when the Superintendent of Schools for Indian River County recruited her to direct the curriculum and supervise all language arts, history and social studies teachers for the entire county. She lent her classroom skills to mentor other teachers until her retirement in 1981. Joyce and Stewart built a summer home near Newland, North Carolina and spent thirty-one glorious summers enjoying the mountains, receiving visitors, and traveling. Joyce delighted in continuing to teach her grandchildren, Lindsey (LeRoy), Jessica and Stephanie as they grew, and made learning fun by creating games that fueled their curiosity. Joyce delighted in having the girls visit with them in North Carolina and Florida, and included granddaughter Lindsey on one of their trips to Europe. Joyce delighted in keeping in touch with all her former students and enjoyed hearing about all their successes. She was especially proud of all the students who blossomed in their chosen endeavors and who had the graciousness to tell her in written word or conversation the lasting mark she had made in their education. She exemplified the expression that "to teach is to touch a life forever." Joyce is predeceased by her husband Stewart and brother Jerald Jackson. She is survived by sons Gary Carlton, and Steve Carlton (Lisa) of Jupiter, FL, granddaughters Lindsey Carlton-LeRoy (Evan), Austin, TX, Jessica Carlton, Washington, D.C. and Stephanie Carlton, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, nephews Russ Jackson of Pine Bluff, AR, Doug Jackson of Grand Prarie, TX, nieces Patricia Carlton (Dinakur) of Pasadena, CA, Kay Carlton, Durham, NC, Marjorie Jo Mock, Houston, TX, and nephews Arthur Carlton, Jr. (Pat) Fairhope, AL, Charles Carlton, (Kelly) Birmingham, AL, and Jay Bishop (Lanelle), Naples, FL. A visitation will be held in Vero Beach, FL at Strunk Funeral Home, 916 17th Street in Vero Beach on Thursday, July 20, 2017 from 7:00 p.m 9:00 pm. A celebration of Joyce's life will be held at First United Methodist Church, 1750 20th St, Vero Beach, FL on Friday, July 21, 2017 at 11:00 a.m. Private interment will occur later at Crestlawn Cemetery in Vero Beach, FL. In lieu of flowers, the family asks friends to consider a donation in memory of Joyce J. Carlton to Scholarship Foundation of Indian River County info@SFIndianRiver.org) which provides need-based assistance to deserving Indian River County students seeking to attend college, or to the charity of their choice. A guest book is available at www.strunkfuneralhome.com.