Joyce Childress Malphrus

Joyce Childress Malphrus, 78, died peacefully Friday evening with her daughter, Ginger Moore and her husband of 61 years, Wofford, by her bedside.Born to Gladys Towles Childress and William Westmoreland Childress in Orangeburg, Joyce attended first grade in Ridgeland. After moving about the Lowcountry as her father worked for the South Carolina Highway Department, Joyce returned to Ridgeland, where she was a cheerleader and played basketball at Ridgeland Senior High School. In 1947 she married Wofford, whose career in the Boy Scouts of America carried them from Walterboro, to Charleston, to Reidsville, North Carolina, to Albany, Georgia and to Savannah. In 1993, Joyce and Wofford retired to the family home in Grahamville. Both enthusiastic about local history and birdwatching, they became active members of the Jasper County Historical Society and helped found the Lowcountry Chapter of the Audubon Society.Joyce was also an enthusiastic gardener and was past president of the Azalea Garden Club. She always loved to sew for herself and her children, and her family loved her cooking. Most important, though, to Joyce were her children, Ginger, Anne Bailey and Buck Malphrus, and her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Joyce grew up attending Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, but in later years attended Euhaw Baptist.Funeral Services will be held at 3:00 pm, Monday, May 26, 2008 at Sauls Funeral Home Chapel, 310 W. Adams Street, Ridgeland, SC and a graveside service will follow at Grahamville Cemetery.Memorials may be sent to the American Cancer Society or to the Grahamville Cemetery Fund.