Joyce Graves Deen: Long Beach woman was beloved mom to many: Newspaper Obituary and Death Notice
Sun Herald (Biloxi, MS) - Monday, August 8, 2005
Deceased Name: Joyce Graves Deen: Long Beach woman was beloved mom to many
Joyce Graves Deen wanted children more than anything. She adopted a daughter, lost infant twins, adopted a son and finally gave birth to a son. But more than 80 children have called her "mom." Some still do.
Several of her foster children are among those who have gathered in Long Beach to mourn her death and to remember the woman of faith who welcomed them into her home and made them a part of the family.
Deen, 65, died of lung cancer Thursday.
"She showed me a life I would probably have never known," said Lou Ann Cox, the first foster child taken in when Deen was 23 and her husband, James, was 25.
"She was like the mother we never had," said Cox. "I grew up off and on with her. I spent weekends and summers with her. She married me twice. She took care of my kids. Everything about her was special."
Rhonda Braden, Deen's adopted daughter, remembers growing up with foster children in and out of the home.
"We never knew how many we would have with us for a holiday," she recalled.
Deen lost twin sons - one stillborn, one who survived less than two days - in 1969 during the month Hurricane Camille hit the Coast. She later adopted a son before giving birth to a son.
"She was one of the strongest Christians I've ever known," said Braden. "She set a foundation for our lives that we treasure."
Deen was a longtime member of Trinity Pentecostal Tabernacle in Long Beach.
She was a stay-at-home mom most of her adult life but had, in recent years, worked part time in the office of Bayberry RV Park, owned by her pastor, the Rev. Milburn Mallette.
Deen was working in the office one afternoon when a young man came in to rent a slip at the park, said Braden. He was one of "the Deen children."
A foster son who lives in Houston "got off work and drove straight through to be with us for the funeral," said Braden.
Five of the foster children have remained a part of the family and are listed as children in Deen's obituary.
Funeral services will be today at Riemann Funeral Home in Gulfport. Visitation begins at 1 p.m. The service is at 3 p.m. Burial follows at Evergreen Cemetery. Page: A6
2005 Sun Herald
Sun Herald (Biloxi, MS) - Monday, August 8, 2005
Deceased Name: Joyce Graves Deen: Long Beach woman was beloved mom to many
Joyce Graves Deen wanted children more than anything. She adopted a daughter, lost infant twins, adopted a son and finally gave birth to a son. But more than 80 children have called her "mom." Some still do.
Several of her foster children are among those who have gathered in Long Beach to mourn her death and to remember the woman of faith who welcomed them into her home and made them a part of the family.
Deen, 65, died of lung cancer Thursday.
"She showed me a life I would probably have never known," said Lou Ann Cox, the first foster child taken in when Deen was 23 and her husband, James, was 25.
"She was like the mother we never had," said Cox. "I grew up off and on with her. I spent weekends and summers with her. She married me twice. She took care of my kids. Everything about her was special."
Rhonda Braden, Deen's adopted daughter, remembers growing up with foster children in and out of the home.
"We never knew how many we would have with us for a holiday," she recalled.
Deen lost twin sons - one stillborn, one who survived less than two days - in 1969 during the month Hurricane Camille hit the Coast. She later adopted a son before giving birth to a son.
"She was one of the strongest Christians I've ever known," said Braden. "She set a foundation for our lives that we treasure."
Deen was a longtime member of Trinity Pentecostal Tabernacle in Long Beach.
She was a stay-at-home mom most of her adult life but had, in recent years, worked part time in the office of Bayberry RV Park, owned by her pastor, the Rev. Milburn Mallette.
Deen was working in the office one afternoon when a young man came in to rent a slip at the park, said Braden. He was one of "the Deen children."
A foster son who lives in Houston "got off work and drove straight through to be with us for the funeral," said Braden.
Five of the foster children have remained a part of the family and are listed as children in Deen's obituary.
Funeral services will be today at Riemann Funeral Home in Gulfport. Visitation begins at 1 p.m. The service is at 3 p.m. Burial follows at Evergreen Cemetery. Page: A6
2005 Sun Herald
Joyce Graves Deen: Long Beach woman was beloved mom to many: Newspaper Obituary and Death Notice
Sun Herald (Biloxi, MS) - Monday, August 8, 2005
Deceased Name: Joyce Graves Deen: Long Beach woman was beloved mom to many
Joyce Graves Deen wanted children more than anything. She adopted a daughter, lost infant twins, adopted a son and finally gave birth to a son. But more than 80 children have called her "mom." Some still do.
Several of her foster children are among those who have gathered in Long Beach to mourn her death and to remember the woman of faith who welcomed them into her home and made them a part of the family.
Deen, 65, died of lung cancer Thursday.
"She showed me a life I would probably have never known," said Lou Ann Cox, the first foster child taken in when Deen was 23 and her husband, James, was 25.
"She was like the mother we never had," said Cox. "I grew up off and on with her. I spent weekends and summers with her. She married me twice. She took care of my kids. Everything about her was special."
Rhonda Braden, Deen's adopted daughter, remembers growing up with foster children in and out of the home.
"We never knew how many we would have with us for a holiday," she recalled.
Deen lost twin sons - one stillborn, one who survived less than two days - in 1969 during the month Hurricane Camille hit the Coast. She later adopted a son before giving birth to a son.
"She was one of the strongest Christians I've ever known," said Braden. "She set a foundation for our lives that we treasure."
Deen was a longtime member of Trinity Pentecostal Tabernacle in Long Beach.
She was a stay-at-home mom most of her adult life but had, in recent years, worked part time in the office of Bayberry RV Park, owned by her pastor, the Rev. Milburn Mallette.
Deen was working in the office one afternoon when a young man came in to rent a slip at the park, said Braden. He was one of "the Deen children."
A foster son who lives in Houston "got off work and drove straight through to be with us for the funeral," said Braden.
Five of the foster children have remained a part of the family and are listed as children in Deen's obituary.
Funeral services will be today at Riemann Funeral Home in Gulfport. Visitation begins at 1 p.m. The service is at 3 p.m. Burial follows at Evergreen Cemetery. Page: A6
2005 Sun Herald
Sun Herald (Biloxi, MS) - Monday, August 8, 2005
Deceased Name: Joyce Graves Deen: Long Beach woman was beloved mom to many
Joyce Graves Deen wanted children more than anything. She adopted a daughter, lost infant twins, adopted a son and finally gave birth to a son. But more than 80 children have called her "mom." Some still do.
Several of her foster children are among those who have gathered in Long Beach to mourn her death and to remember the woman of faith who welcomed them into her home and made them a part of the family.
Deen, 65, died of lung cancer Thursday.
"She showed me a life I would probably have never known," said Lou Ann Cox, the first foster child taken in when Deen was 23 and her husband, James, was 25.
"She was like the mother we never had," said Cox. "I grew up off and on with her. I spent weekends and summers with her. She married me twice. She took care of my kids. Everything about her was special."
Rhonda Braden, Deen's adopted daughter, remembers growing up with foster children in and out of the home.
"We never knew how many we would have with us for a holiday," she recalled.
Deen lost twin sons - one stillborn, one who survived less than two days - in 1969 during the month Hurricane Camille hit the Coast. She later adopted a son before giving birth to a son.
"She was one of the strongest Christians I've ever known," said Braden. "She set a foundation for our lives that we treasure."
Deen was a longtime member of Trinity Pentecostal Tabernacle in Long Beach.
She was a stay-at-home mom most of her adult life but had, in recent years, worked part time in the office of Bayberry RV Park, owned by her pastor, the Rev. Milburn Mallette.
Deen was working in the office one afternoon when a young man came in to rent a slip at the park, said Braden. He was one of "the Deen children."
A foster son who lives in Houston "got off work and drove straight through to be with us for the funeral," said Braden.
Five of the foster children have remained a part of the family and are listed as children in Deen's obituary.
Funeral services will be today at Riemann Funeral Home in Gulfport. Visitation begins at 1 p.m. The service is at 3 p.m. Burial follows at Evergreen Cemetery. Page: A6
2005 Sun Herald
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