Alice "Joy" Runnels

In Loving Memory of Alice “Joy” Runnels

December 5, 1929 – October 23, 2026

Graveside services for Alice “Joy” Runnels of Lufkin will be held Wednesday, October 28, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. at Runnels Cemetery in Broaddus with Erick Koenig officiating. Pallbearers will be her grandsons.

Alice “Joy” Runnels was born December 5, 1929, in San Augustine, Texas, to M.D. and Gladys Parker. The oldest of six children, Joy lived 96 years marked by an unwavering faith in Jehovah, devotion to family, generous hospitality, and a song that never seemed far from her lips.

Her faith took root early. In 1941, Joy was baptized as one of Jehovah's Witnesses. Her dedication to Jehovah remained at the center of her life, and she found great happiness in sharing with others the Bible’s promises and her confidence in the promised Paradise.

On May 24, 1947, the day after graduating high school, Joy married the love of her life, JT Runnels. They were happily married for 69 years working hand in hand together.

After their marriage, they focused their life on raising their children. Through the years, Joy attended SFA where she obtained her teaching degree. She went on to become a schoolteacher, dedicating her career to educating children before retiring. She was able to teach in several school districts in the East Texas area before their settling in Broaddus in 1963. Her family also learned from her example - lessons about hard work, hospitality, loyalty, faith, and caring for one another.

Some of the family’s most cherished memories were made with Joy and JT at the lake house. The lake, the Gravel Pit, long summer days, laughter, and more than a few sunburns became part of the family story. With her fair skin, Joy was usually in the shade, smiling as she watched everyone around her. Having her children and their growing families together was enough to make her happy.

And when the family gathered, Joy made sure they were well fed. Her kitchen was filled with conversation, delicious smells, and the familiar sound of her singing or humming as she cooked. Her chicken-fried steak, biscuits and gravy, fried catfish, and chicken dressing became family favorites, along with her chocolate pie, lemon icebox pie, and peach cobbler.

Joy’s welcoming spirit extended beyond her family. Her home was always open, and over the years she and JT hosted many traveling brothers and sisters who shared their faith, offering them meals, fellowship, and a place where they could feel at home.

Joy and JT also loved to travel. She often spoke fondly of their trips to Hawaii and of an adventurous six-week drive through Alaska. Traveling in a Ford conversion van, they fished for salmon in streams along the way. Together they traveled throughout the United States, collecting stories and memories wherever the road took them.

Joy had a special love for animals, particularly birds, squirrels, cats, and dogs. After JT’s death, her beloved Cisco became an especially important companion. In later years, Joy could often be found on her back porch with Cisco nearby, singing or humming as the birds and squirrels gathered around her.

She would say, “As soon as they hear me singing, they come up to the porch.”

That familiar scene captured so much of Joy - a song on her lips, animals gathered close, and contentment in the simple things she loved.

Joy was preceded in death by her beloved husband, JT Runnels; her parents, M.D. and Gladys Parker; her stepmother, Florene “Frene” Parker; and her siblings, JoAnn, Walter, Elouise, and Leonard. She is survived by her sister and brother-in-law, Eunice and Rodney Bridges.

She is also survived by her children, Jack and wife Teri, Jimmy and wife Linda, and Mary Ann Ingram, whose late husband was Roger; eight grandchildren; eleven great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren.

These generations were among Joy’s greatest blessings. They were the family she loved, cooked for, welcomed into her home, taught, encouraged, and treasured.

Through every chapter of her life, Joy’s faith remained her foundation. She spoke with those she met about the hope she found in Jehovah’s promises and looked forward with confidence to the promised Paradise.

Her family will remember summers at the lake, meals around her table, adventures with JT, an always-open home, her love for animals, and the familiar sound of her singing and humming.

Perhaps that is how many will picture Joy: sitting in the shade, Cisco nearby, humming a familiar tune as the birds and squirrels gather around her.

Alice “Joy” Runnels will be lovingly remembered for the family she cherished, the home and memories she created, and a lifetime of faithful devotion to Jehovah.

Memories and condolences may be added at www.carrowayfuneralhome.com.

Carroway Funeral Home, Lufkin, directors.