Peggy Joyce Box

1936 - 2025

Peggy Joyce Ellis Box of Clinton, Mississippi, passed away peacefully on the morning of January 16, 2025, at The Blake, surrounded by her children and devoted caregivers. This world was blessed with her joyful spirit and laughter for 88 short but wonderful years.

Above all, Peggy loved and faithfully served her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Her next greatest calling in life was to support and nurture her family, a role she cherished. She leaves behind an indelible impression on her children and grandchildren that words cannot fully capture.

Born to Grady and Gladys Ellis in Kilmichael, Mississippi, Peggy enjoyed a beautiful small-town Mississippi upbringing alongside her older brother, Leon, and younger sister, Dianne. Peggy was head cheerleader at Kilmichael High School and also a member of the basketball team, though she preferred to stay on the bench so as not to mess up her hair. She was crowned homecoming queen in 1953 and would have already been married to the captain of the football team, her loving husband of 65 years, Eugene "Gene" Lee Box, had her parents not required her to wait to marry until she turned 18 the following April. She and Gene were married shortly after her birthday, and their son, Michael Ellis Box, was born the next year in 1955.

Gene's military service soon took Peggy and their young son, Mike, to Shreveport, Louisiana, and later, work opportunities brought them to Jackson, where their beloved daughter, Paula Jean Box, was born. While Peggy devoted these years to mothering and loved her children equally, she was quick to tell anyone who would listen how much more parenting and patience Mike required than Paula.

As a young mother, she deftly balanced her Baptist upbringing with the dancing required in the era of Elvis Presley. Her entire life, when it came time to put on a record, Peggy reached for The King. On her list of favorite things, Elvis may well have ranked even higher than coffee or a trip to the beach.

Mike and Paula were not the only generation blessed to be raised by Peggy. She spent countless days caring for her three granddaughters, Lindsey Box, Kelsey Murphy, and Natalie Murphy, when their mothers had to work, vowing that the girls' feet would never step inside a nursery or daycare-a promise she nearly kept. The granddaughters cherished these moments with their "Meme," whether they were spent sitting by the hood dryer at a salon while Meme perfected her new hairdo, heading up Highway 80 toward MetroCenter for some fake nails and a Krystal burger, or staying at home and sharing some conversation and whatever sweet treat was in her fridge (often a Slim-Fast shake) on Meme's screened back porch.

Peggy never missed an opportunity to doll up whichever granddaughter she had in tow and whisk her off to a last-minute audition for a movie or TV show filming in Mississippi. If she felt like it, Peggy might have even let a parent know the plan beforehand. Family legend has it that Peggy had one of the girls a callback away from being cast as "young Jenny" in Forrest Gump-all without her parents even knowing she had tried out.

Led by her caretaking spirit, at 42 years of age, Peggy enrolled in nursing school later in life, a year behind Paula. After receiving her degree, Peggy went on to have a 20-plus-year nursing career serving as the nurse at Dr. Jim Patterson's clinics in Clinton before retiring in 2005. She had a heart for underdogs and comeback stories, always taking special care in her work and personal life for those who had found hurt, trouble, or hard times.

Peggy was a devout member of Morrison Heights Baptist Church in Clinton for over 50 years and would especially claim those friends from her Morrison Heights Women's Sunday School class who were as faithful in playing dominos as they were in attending church. These dominos gatherings, where assuredly no husband was safe from some well-natured critique, continued
until Peggy was well into her 80s.

Peggy was a character in the best way. She called a particularly bad sunburn on the first day of a beach trip, "getting rurnt." When someone brought her a Clinton News article celebrating the mother-daughter duo of Paula and Natalie having both been named Miss Clinton High School, she was, of course, proud-but also a bit miffed that her Miss Kilmichael High School crown hadn't made the story. It was likely Gene who convinced her not to phone the editor.

Peggy was high-energy and feisty. The term "firecracker" might well have been coined for her. She could be honest to a fault, but you always knew where she stood. She could get the better of you in a squabble and had an unparalleled ability to shoot straight, especially in moments when you didn't want to hear the truth but needed to. Peggy wanted her family to succeed and held them to high standards of dress, etiquette, hygiene, and work ethic. If you fell short, you heard about it, in love.

In her later years, Peggy took hilarious opportunities to cast an even wider net of commentary-whether lovingly telling a family member they had "really filled out" in their last semester of college or remarking to a friend that the brewed cup from their new coffee maker tasted like cigarette ashes. A Box/Murphy gathering never truly began until "Meme" let out her unmistakable laughter
at a grandbaby or great-grandbaby toddling over and smiling at her first. She will be deeply and forever loved and missed. No one made them feel more delighted in and loved.

Peggy's family rejoices in her reuniting in heaven with those preceding her in death: parents, Grady and Gladys Ellis; sister, Dianne Lancaster; and husband and life-long love, Gene Box.

Survivors include: son, Michael Box (Valerie) of Madison; daughter, Paula Box Murphy (John) of Madison; brother, Leon Ellis (Boots) of Louisville; granddaughters, Lindsey Box Lassiter (John) of Flora, Kelsey Murphy of Dallas, Texas, and Natalie Murphy Sholar (Drew) of Memphis, Tennessee; great-grandchildren, Ellis, Jack, and Olivia Lassiter of Flora, and Margaret Sholar of Memphis; and numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews, great-great-nieces, and great-great-nephews.

Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 22, 2025, at Wright & Ferguson Funeral Home in Clinton, with visitation beginning at 12:30 p.m. Graveside services will follow at Lakewood Memorial Park in Jackson.

In lieu of flowers, please help support Peggy's great-great-nephew Lucas Ellis's recovery by donating to the following link: helphopelive.org/campaign/22306.