Joyce Fay Moser, 79, of Llano passed away May 24, 2021
Joyce Fay Moser, 79, of Llano, Texas, passed away May 24, 2021. She was born in El Campo, Texas, on April 27, 1942, to Douglas and May (Blackstock) Stewart, the 10th of 12 children. She married Richard Moser on July 16, 1959, in Linn, Kansas, and they had one daughter, Yvette.
Joyce was a permanent fixture in Llano. Her family moved to Llano in the early 1960s, and she worked several jobs as waitress, cook, and cleaner, meeting and getting to know nearly everyone in town. She worked for the Llano Independent School District from 1975 until she retired in 2001 and then for the city of Llano part time from 2002 to 2014. She volunteered at the Llano Food Pantry and the Abundant Love Food Ministry. She was also an active member of Pittsburg Avenue Baptist Church for over 37 years.
Dozens of former Llano school students still know and remember her years on the cafeteria and custodial staff. Many Llano residents recognize Joyce and her husband, Richard, as they drove their City of Llano Gator around town and walked through the neighborhoods reading utility meters every month for 12 years.
Joyce loved taking trips or driving around “seeing the sights” as she would say — whether local or across the country. As a young lady, she traveled the Plains states with a family carnival tour as a cook and midway game operator. On later adventures, she put her feet in the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, and the Gulf of Mexico. She hiked in the Rockies, saw geysers at Yellowstone, the faces of Mount Rushmore, dolphins in Florida, and played on the beaches of the Carolina Outer Banks.
Her favorite pastimes were playing cards and dominoes with her friends and family as well as taking care of and playing with her nieces and nephews. She was a kid’s best friend. Several children in her church congregation called her “Grandma,” and everyone else called her “Miss Joyce.”
At family gatherings, she was “Aunt Joycie” and taught generations of nieces and nephews the art and skills of Seven-Card Stud using spare change. She didn’t like bets going over a quarter but was always willing to see the hand out to the end, just to make sure no one was trying to bluff her out.
Even in her final days, the ladies of her church moved their weekly domino game to her house so she could share another game with them.
She is survived by her husband of 61 years, Richard; their daughter Yvette and her husband, Bill Fisher; sisters Ruby Haywood of Chandler and Essie Cromer of Bastrop; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Joyce was preceded in death by her parents, Douglas and May Stewart, and nine siblings, Dorothy Wooten, Thomas “Sonny” Stewart, Douglas Stewart Jr., James Franklin Stewart, Charles Dee Stewart, Bobby Stewart, Mary Wooten, Billy Joe Stewart, and Odessa Tindell.
A celebration of life and memorial service will be held at Pittsburg Avenue Baptist Church, 709 Pittsburg Ave. in Llano, at noon Saturday, May 29. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Abundant Love Food Ministry at Pittsburg Avenue Baptist Church, the Llano Food Pantry, or the American Heart Association.
Funeral arrangements under the direction of Waldrope-Hatfield-Hawthorne Funeral Homes Inc. Condolences may be sent to whhfuneral1@verizon.net.