Obituary of Joyce Kellam

Joyce Maddox Lunsford Kellam passed quietly away in Buford, Georgia on Sunday, January 17, just two days shy of her 95^th birthday. She was surrounded by loving caregivers and attended by her son Ray Lunsford, his wife Angela, and their daughter Lila Rae.

Joyce is survived also by son Thomas Byron Lunsford of Mableton and by daughter Lianna Lunsford Nix of Monticello, both in Georgia. She is predeceased by first husband Bill McCurdy Lunsford and second husband Seth Hamilton Kellam as well as sons, Barry Mark Lunsford and Bill Lunsford, and her beloved granddaughter Hilary Paige Nix, all of whom await her in glory.

Born on January 19, 1926 (over 10 weeks premature), she was kept alive by placing warm bricks from the fireplace in a tin box and sliding them under her blankets. Born just outside of Griffin, GA, to Phillip and Mittie Bell Maddox, Joyce grew up on a depression-era farm with her four brothers Phillip, Robert, Roland and Alton, and younger sister Edith Anne. She remembers that her first crib was a dresser drawer, and that they survived as most Southern families did during the depression – by hard work and determination. At the time she was born, famous cowboy Wyatt Earp was still alive, as were many ex-soldiers of the Civil War, and many freed slaves. Her family loved everyone and always helped them all.

At the age of 18, Joyce went on to business school at the beginning of WWII, and then to work at Warner Robins Army Air Force Base for 2 years, then on to Oakridge, TN, as a secretary at the top-secret facility where the Manhattan Project brought forth the atomic bomb that ended World War II. Having been sworn to secrecy, she remained close-mouthed about her own involvement in the war effort, even until her death.

Joyce’s experience with this has been recently published in a book by Rona Simmons, titled “The Other Veterans of World War II”. Joyce’s story is Chapter 14. During this time in her life, she met and married her hero, US Marine Sgt. Bill Lunsford, who had served valiantly in the Pacific theater, and stayed on in the active reserves, went to engineering school, and met Joyce at Oakridge near the beginning of the Korean War. Joyce married Bill shortly before he was called up for the Korean War. Joyce remained faithful to her marriage and family through the trials that frequently beset so many war veterans. During their life together, she gave birth to four sons and a daughter, all of whom she loved devotedly and sacrificially as best she could. After her divorce from Bill Lunsford, Joyce worked relentlessly to provide for her children year after year. She eventually married her second husband, Mr. Seth Hamilton Kellam, also a combat veteran of WWII and Korea.

Joyce’s children produced their own offspring; Barry fathered four sons – Jason, Barry, Bill and Benjamin, and one daughter, Marin; Tommy produced a son, Brian; Lianna has raised two sons, Dylan and Austin and two daughters, Paige and Chelsea, the former of whom has been waiting on her beloved “Granmommy” to join her in eternity since 2016; and her beloved son Ray, who had remained as her close, faithful and staunch advocate, gave his mother her youngest grandchild, Lila Rae. Her grandchildren have provided her a host of great grandchildren.

Joyce was greatly beloved by her children, grandchildren, and all who knew her. She was warm and affectionate, with a salty sense of humor that underscored her positive disposition and pithy wisdom. Her humor was contagious; she enjoyed sharing laughter with others. She had gleaned much insight from her difficult years and was known to share it with those who were wise enough to listen. Rich veins of fortitude and conviction ran through her soul: Joyce knew that darkness never lingered, and that joy could be found in the little things and moments shared with those around her. The simplest things gave her great enjoyment – the sweet things in life, like flowers and ice cream and the music of her era.

Joyce has been many things in her life – daughter, sister, wife, friend, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother. To Ray, Cherie, and Jeaneia at Generous Caregivers in Buford, GA, where she lived, she was the truly unforgettable, “Mama Joyce”. They describer her as the “life of the home”, calling her “a friend” to them all, and “the grandmother we never had”. We are extremely thankful for her love at Generous Caregivers.

Joyce Kellam was a survivor in the truest sense of the word; she endured seasons of suffering and disappointment with a mix of relentless courage, dignity, graciousness, and what she would call “moxie”. True to her given name, she leaves her descendants, extended family and friends a legacy of seasoned joy and the honeyed vinegar sass that defined her. She leaves nuggets of gold via decades of memories shared with those who knew and loved her best. She leaves behind the influences of her love and insights to countless others exponentially touched by those whom she blessed with the same. “Mama” Joyce is no doubt already reaping the eternal rewards for the seeds she so lavishly sowed in all her relationships. As on precious caregiver stated, “A golden heart stopped beating, but the abundance of joyful memories will live on”.

We will all miss and love our mother, Joyce Maddox Lunsford Kellam, and we will see her again in the blink of an eye.

Due to COVID restrictions and concerns, a memorial service for Joyce Kellam will be announced at a later date.

Hamilton Mill Memorial Chapel 770-945-6924 Share memories of Joyce at hamiltonmillchapel.com