Joyce Pounder

Joyce Pounder went to eternal rest with her savior on Saturday, July 19, 2025, after a brief, but courageous battle against vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

She was born and raised in Scranton, SC, the second youngest of seven children. Her father, Dewey Matthews, was a farmer; her mother, Letha, was a homemaker. Joyce grew up on the family farm and enjoyed telling stories about her childhood. She attended local schools and graduated from Lake City High School in 1966.

In December 1966, she married Stanley Brown and remained with him until that relationship ended thirteen years later. In 1983, she married Gary Pounder, a member of the United States Air Force. As a military family, they moved frequently for assignments in North Carolina, Colorado, Georgia, Virginia, Mississippi and Arizona.

At each stop on their military journey, Joyce was always known as the “most popular mom on the block,” keeping lots of snacks on hands for her children and their friends and always willing to set an extra place at the table for a neighbor’s child who suddenly decided to spend the night—or the weekend.

Her gifted ways with youngsters extended to other areas as well. She was a Sunday school teacher for many years and worked for various daycare centers, usually volunteering for the toughest assignments. If there was a child who was upset, difficult or anxious, “Miss Joyce” could calm their fears in a matter of moments. At the end of her career, she ran her own home daycare in Oxford, MS. Two decades later, the children she cared for as infants remained in contact and invited her to their college graduations, a testament to the bonds she established so easily with youngsters.

Joyce’s love for children was exceeded only by her love of family and her love of Christ. She accepted Jesus as her savior at an early age and was filled with the Holy Ghost as a teenager. For the rest of her life, she was a willing witness for Jesus, sharing the good news with friends and strangers alike. At the time of her passing, she was a member of WOW Church in Newport News.

Joyce was predeceased by her parents and her six siblings, brothers Leo Matthews and Donald Matthews and sisters Genell Hyman, Kathleen Poston, Juanita Player and Vicky Buchanan. She is survived by her husband of 41 years, (retired) USAF Major Gary Pounder of Yorktown; and daughter Kristen Kennedy of Yorktown and her son, Chad Brown, of Oxford, MS. She is also survived by nine grandchildren, who brought her great joy and happiness.

Visitation will be held at Amory Funeral Home in Yorktown on July 24th at 7 pm, with funeral services July 25th at WOW Church in Newport News at 9:00 am, followed by internment at Peninsula Memorial Park.