Joyce Robertson

Joyce Jeanne Mills Robertson died peacefully on October 18, only a few days shy of her 92nd birthday.

Joyce was born on October 25, 1928.  She was the fourth daughter of Ellis W. and Stella Forkner Mills of Ararat, in Surry County, North Carolina.  Despite the difficult economic times of the era, she and her siblings were raised in the idyll of rural farm life.   Her family descended from the early Quakers who settled in Surry County and the faith and practices of Friends greatly influenced Joyce’s life.

Joyce attended school in Pilot Mountain and graduated from High Point University with degrees in English and History.  She commenced a career in teaching, but decided to forego that career to devote herself full-time to raising her three children.  Joyce was married to Bob Robertson in 1951 and they shared their lives together until Bob’s death in 2017.   Described by friends as the consummate lady, Joyce had a quick and often dry sense of humor.  Always a gardener, she shared her plants and knowledge with her many friends.  Joyce was one of the organizers of the first efforts to enhance the appearance of the Village of Clemmons.  She also devoted time and energy for several years to the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts in Old Salem.  Joyce and her husband Bob were members of Clemmons United Methodist Church and the Upper Room.  She is predeceased by her husband, parents, sisters, Phyllis Reeves, Edith Proctor and Christine Shelton and brother Robert Gray Mills.  She is survived by her three children, Richard Lee Robertson (Debbie Robertson) of Charlotte, NC, Charles Ronald Robertson of Advance, NC (Hilary Smith), and Pamela Ann Robertson (Leslie McCaskill) of Greensboro, NC, five grandchildren, Richard Lee Robertson, Jr., Meredith Monday (William), Mary Elizabeth Robertson, Joseph Harmon “Jack” Robertson and Steven Ellis Robertson, two great grandchildren Mary Alma Monday and William Douglas  Monday, and sisters-in- law, Jackie Mills of Ararat, NC, and Joyce Malone of Denver, CO.

The family would like to extend their sincere gratitude to Joyce’s care providers and to Ms. Tinika Brown for her years of assistance to Joyce.  A graveside service will be held on Thursday, October 22, 2020 at 1:00 p.m., at Westlawn Gardens of Memory in Clemmons, NC.  Memorials may be made to Clemmons United Methodist Church, in Clemmons, NC, or Ararat Friends Meeting, Ararat, NC.  Hayworth-Miller Kinderton Chapel is assisting the family.