On Monday evening, Sept. 23, 2024, Joye Courtney Stokes, passed away in Tallahassee, Fla., at the age of 88 years old. She will be remembered as a devoted Christian, mother and wife who loved her family, the beach, baking sweet treats and sharing a funny joke.
Joye was born on Oct. 27, 1935, in Tallahassee, Fla., the youngest daughter of Rev. Jasper Daniel Courtney and Addie Leola Spurlin Courtney. They, along with her siblings, Melba Perry, Geraldine Land and Daniel Courtney, preceded her in death. She married Jim Bruce when she was 19 years old and, by the age of 25 was the mother of two little girls. As the daughter of an Assembly of God minister who frequently moved from church to church, she desired for her family to have deep roots in one community – Tallahassee.