Joy Wallace Joynt

Joy Wallace Joynt, one of the founding members of the Henrico County Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission in 1976, died of leukemia, October 31, 2004 at MCV Massey Cancer Center. She was 65. Ms. Joynt was born in Norfolk, and attended what is now Old Dominion University. After a career as a wife, mother and community volunteer, she returned to college and received her bachelor of science in business management from Virginia Commonwealth University on the same weekend that her daughter, Victoria Joynt Bosse, graduated from the University of Virginia. Her political activities began in 1975 when she campaigned to get Henrico voters to pass a $7 million bond issue for a county-wide park system. The bond issue, which had failed in previous attempts, passed by 200 votes. She was appointed to the Parks Commission by Eugene T. Rilee, then Tuckahoe supervisor, and served for nearly 20 years. With Supervisor David Kaechele, she turned the shovel to launch Deep Run Park, one of more than 29 now in Henrico's system. With the approval of the Henrico County Board of Supervisors, a maple tree has been planted in her honor in Deep Run Park. She also was elected a citizen member of the Virginia Recreation and Parks Society and in that capacity represented Virginia on the National Recreation and Parks Association Citizens Board. Ms. Joynt served on the Citizens' Advisory Board for the Richmond Regional Planning District Commission and on the Board of the Friends of the Tuckahoe Library. An avid gardener, she helped design and implement the landscaping of that library with the help of Westgate Garden Club members. She served several terms as president of that club. She also served on the board of directors for Henrico CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) where her younger son, Bill, currently is on the board. She was a lobbyist and director of communications for Prevent Child Abuse Virginia and later became director of operations for Advanced Concepts Training. In addition to her daughter and younger son, Ms. Joynt is survived by her older son, Stephen, of Mobile, Ala., and his wife, Nancy; Bill's wife, Cheryl, and Victoria's husband, Lou Bosse; two grandchildren, Michael and Jaclyn Bosse, all of Richmond; her mother, Leona B. Wallace; one brother, W. Herbert Wallace, and his wife, Gaye, all of Chesapeake. Memorial gifts may be sent to Massey Cancer Center, P. O. Box 980037, Richmond, Va. 23298-0037 or to Henrico CASA, P. O. Box 70338, Richmond, Va. 23255-0338. The family also would appreciate donations of blood to the Virginia Blood Bank. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, November 6, at 10 a.m. at Discovery United Methodist Church.