Joyce Dean McDaniel Mills, 90, of Port Wentworth went to be with the Lord on April 16, 2022.  She was born on December 8, 1931, and grew up on the family farm in Andrews, SC among the extended Mills and McDaniel families in the area. She graduated from Andrews High School in 1949 and soon married John David Mills in 1950.  He was the product of another extended family in the area and employed as a railroad engineer, a profession he maintained until his retirement.  They remained married until his death in 2010.  Joyce and John moved to Savannah shortly after marrying and never left Chatham county.  She loved Savannah with all her heart and said moving here with her husband was the smartest thing she ever did.  They produced two sons the next few years, John David in 1952 and Mark Daniel in 1954.  A daughter, Jennifer Dean, was born in 1969.   All her children survive her.

Joyce had two long and successful careers.  When her boys were mostly grown, she began classes at Armstrong University and graduated in 1975, number one in her class.  She earned two more education degrees, one from the University of Georgia and the other from Georgia Southern University.   She began her teaching career at Isle of Hope Elementary and soon transferred to Groves High School in 1978 as librarian and retired there as Media Specialist in 1998.  She began working part-time at H and R Block in the mid-nineties and started full time after leaving Groves.  She eventually ran the Garden City office for several years, but had to go back to part-time when her husband developed health issues and needed some homecare.  She really missed that job and her many friends and clients there, but duty called.  Her career at H and R Block ended in early 2009.

The seasonal H and R Block work allowed Joyce to extensively travel with her friends in the United States and around the world for several years.  Favorite spots overseas were Canada and Europe.  She was a compulsive reader her whole life and ravaged crossword puzzles daily.  She undertook a very complete ancestry of the Mills and McDaniel families, extending to their many side branches.   She eventually succumbed to a long illness and passed away in her sleep at home on April 16, 2022.

Additionally, Joyce is survived by brother Mac and his wife Jean; sister, Irene; sister-in-law, Vera; granddaughters, Maddie and Ava; daughter-in-law, Claire; nieces, Robin, Maxine, Sylvia and Melissa; nephews, Doug, Christopher, Ed and Pierre and Robin and Ed's children Maude and Jack.  The family would like to extend our thanks and gratitude to family friend and longtime caregiver, Carolyn who assisted Jennifer in John and Joyce's later years.

Graveside services will be held at Forest Lawn Cemetery at 1:00 pm, Monday April 25.  In lieu of flowers, we encourage all to donate something to your favorite local charity.onorable mention goes to dear family friend and faH

Thomas C. Strickland & Sons Funeral Home

West Chatham Chapel

901 Hwy 80 West

Pooler, GA  31322