Joyce Ann Briggs, 70, the oldest of seven children of Lewis Esco and Mary Agnes Tyler Riley, was born Aug. 19, 1937, at Hartshorn. She died Aug. 12, 2008, at Cox South in Springfield after a battle with cancer.
After graduation from Summersville High School in 1955, she married Bobby Eugene Dale May 15, 1955. They had two sons before their divorce.
She married Wayne Briggs Dec. 19, 1959, in a ceremony performed by the Rev. Clell Allen at Summersville. The Briggs had a daughter and were divorced in 1997.
With the exception of a few years in the Kansas City and St. Louis areas, she was a lifelong resident of the Hartshorn and Summersville area. She worked 28 years at Angelica Uniform Co. as a seamstress and quality control supervisor. She later was office manager and salesperson at Kar Korral in Summersville. Most recently, she cared for her parents at their home at Hartshorn.
Ms. Briggs enjoyed the company of family and friends, planning reunions, quilting and volunteering at Antioch Cemetery each Memorial Day.
Her favorite pastimes were doing crossword puzzles and watching Wheel of Fortune.
She was a member of the Valley Center Baptist Church and was baptized in the summer of 1972 by the Rev. Charles Drennan.
She was preceded in death by a son, Ricky; and a brother, Michael Riley.
Surviving are a son, Randy Dale of Nixa; daughter, Carrie Briggs of Rocheport; parents of Hartshorn; sisters, Mary Kirkman of Independence and Faye Hartman of Batesville, Miss.; brothers, Glen Riley of Hartshorn and Steve Riley of Raleigh, N.C.; five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Services were Aug. 16 at the Bradford Funeral Home Chapel in Summersville with burial in the Antioch Cemetery at Hartshorn.
Memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society, 3322 S. Campbell, Springfield, Mo. 65807.
