Special Feature

Joy Weisinger

Joy Weisinger is a lady of very few regrets in a life which could have been improved only by having more years to be with her husband, Keith. From her early years to now she has gone from each experience to the next expecting it to be for the best and her Joy Weisinger complaints have been minimal. She takes each day as it comes and is grateful for the blessings she has been given. Someone knew what they were doing when they named her Joy.

She was born Joy Aycock in Alexandria, LA, a small town in the heart of oil country. She was the oldest of six children of parents whom she described as wonderful and always supportive. She didn't stray very for from home in her early years, attending the local schools in the town and later furthering her education at the Alexandria Business College. She met her husband, originally from Conroe, TX, but living in Alexandria, when he came into her office to demonstrate how to operate the newly purchased bookkeeping machine. He sat down beside her, noticing the engagement ring she had on her finger, and asked her if she loved the guy. Although she had already been reconsidering her decision to accept the ring, she lied and said she did. He replied "Well, I'll just have to see what I can do about that." Much to the chagrin of her family, they dated only four months before their marriage in 1941 before Keith was transferred to Washington, DC, two weeks alter the wedding. Joy said they lucked into a wonderful new apartment in Arlington which had just been fully decorated and they were able to stay there until he went into the Air Force in WW II. Since he began working in the Post Exchange office, they were able to stay together by moving to Amarillo, TX, for one year. While there, they had the good fortune to rent a room from a woman who treated them like they were her children. When her husband received orders to go to England, France and, later, Germany, Joy returned to Alexandria to be with her family until he was discharged in 1946.

Fortunately, Keith's job with Burroughs Business Machines (later Unisys) had been kept open for him, and he returned to continue what would be a life.long career with them, this time in Dallas. Their son Ronald was born there in 1947 and she said that they loved all their wonderful friends they had there. Alter a couple of years they moved back to Amarillo for a short time before making their final city change to Memphis. Joy said most people didn't like having to move, but she and her husband had loved every place they lived and did not mind the inconvenience. She was obviously just as comfortable with settling down since they never made another move until coming to Trezevant Manor in 2000.

The Weisingers moved into a new home in Belle Meade in 1952 in a city of total strangers. They couldn't even have a telephone for several months due to line problems. Once again, the Methodist church served as their introduction to many new friends when they joined Madison Heights Church. Not many years later, the church split and they became charter members of the newly formed Christ Methodist Church, starting out their services in the Plaza Theatre and later moving, upon completion, to the current location on Poplar. Over the years, both Joy and her husband were very involved in the church in many capacities. He served on and was chairman of the administrative board for years and she was the president of the women of the church at a time when they had 20 church circles. While her husband was active with the Rotary Club and the Salvation Army, among others, Joy really enjoyed doing club work, primarily because it allowed her to broaden her circle of friends. She particularly liked her time that was spent in the Duration Club and her tenures as president of the Coterie and the Belle Meade Garden Clubs. When she was not working at these, she could be found playing bridge (with both her lady friends and couples) or reluctantly learning to play golf well enough to share a small amount of time with Keith on the golf course. They were members of Chickasaw for 40 years and he enjoyed spending as much time as he could in the pursuit of better golf.

Ronald grew up with Memphis as his only known home town and attended White Station and MUS. He graduated from UT Knoxville and ultimately set up his home in Atlanta. After he was grown, they loved traveling. Whether they were going to Asia, Europe or somewhere closer to home, they enjoyed joining with another couple to plan their excursions and Keith enjoyed being the tour guide.

Unfortunately, while still rather young, Keith developed Parkinson's Disease and, very gradually; became less able to live his life normally. They made the decision to move to Trezevant Manor in 2000 and he spent several years in Allen Morgan Health Center before he died in 2004. Being on the same property with him during that time, she was able to spend every day from morning through dinner sitting with him and assisting him with his meals. During this time, she was diagnosed with cancer and went through an extended period of going every day for treatment. It was very helpful to her to be able to depend on Trezevant's transportation department to get her back and forth between the daily clinic visits. She was always happy with her decision to move to Trezevant.

She is a very proud mother and grandmother. If you want to see her pride, just ask her about her only grandson who just graduated from law school and is headed back to Atlanta to walk for a firm there. His name is, of course, Keith.