Joyce Howell

Joyce Marie Dillahunt Howell, 78, of Lexington, passed away peacefully at the Hinkle Hospice House on February 14.

A Memorial Service to celebrate Joyce’s life will be held on Sunday, February 22, at 2 p.m. at First Baptist Church of Lexington, North Carolina. A visitation will follow in the fellowship hall.

Joyce was born on April 9, 1947 in Jones County, North Carolina to Estelle Murphy Dillahunt and William Jennings Dillahunt Jr. She was a graduate of Jones County High School and later earned an Associates’ Degree in Business from Davidson County Community College.

Joyce married Ernie Lee Koonce in 1964. He was killed in a hunting accident on the Trent River in October of 1977. Joyce married Ray Nance Howell III in 1978.

Joyce served faithfully as the “Preacher’s Wife” at Pollocksville Baptist Church, Roxboro Baptist Church, and for the past 36 years at First Baptist Church of Lexington. She worked for a number of years with the youth ministry. She was active in the knitting ministry, the Crismon ministry, and served on the Bereavement Committee. She was a volunteer in the church office, producing the church bulletin for several years.

In Roxboro, Joyce worked for the Soil and Water Conservation Department. She worked at First Union Bank of Lexington. She left to help open the Bank of North Carolina in Lexington. She retired in 2009 as the Branch Manager of the Bank of North Carolina.

Joyce was preceded in death by her parents, her first husband, and her three brothers, Ben, Ray, and William.

She is survived by her husband of 48 years, Ray Howell of Lexington; four children: Lynn (Roger) of Timberlake, NC; Della (Ryan) of Clayton, NC; Knight of Swansboro, NC; and Ray Nance (Sang) of Lexington; five grandchildren, Benjamin (Jessica), Samuel, Hannah, Ella Rae, and Parker; and by one great-grandchild, Zoey.

Memorials may be made to First Baptist Church of Lexington, NC. PO Box 436, Lexington, NC 27293, or Cancer Services of Davidson County, 25 West Sixth Avenue, Lexington, NC 27292