Joyce Smith Earp – Oct. 22, 2015
Joyce Smith Earp, 86, of Hedgesville died Oct. 22, 2015 at Ravenswood Center. She was the wife of the late Marcus Avery Earp III, a retired Elder, who died July 11, 2011. A graveside service was held Oct. 27, 2015, at the Woodmere Memorial Cemetery in Huntington.
Joyce Smith Earp was born Nov. 28, 1928, in Fort Gay, W. Va., the daughter of the late Ed Smith and Shirley (Waller) Smith. She and Marcus Earp married in 1950.
She served with him throughout his ministerial career. It began in the West Virginia Conference in 1956. In 1960, he was appointed to Smithville in Baltimore and two years later to Fork. In 1964 he was appointed to Eutaw in Baltimore and stayed until 1969 when he moved to Brooklyn Heights UMC. In 1973, he was appointed to Asbury UMC in Charles Town, W. Va., then in 1980 to the Damascus-Friendship Charge. His last appointment was to Patapsco UMC in Dundalk in 1987 where he remained until he retired in 1992. Retirement was not the end of his ministerial career. He served at John Wesley UMC in Hagerstown for a number of years.
Survivors include her son, Marcus Avery Earp IV of Hedgesville; daughter, Kathryn Earp Spradling and husband, Richard, of Chambersburg, Pa.; two grandchildren, and two great grandchildren.
Condolences may be sent to Kathryn S. Spradling, 711 Clover Drive, Chambersburg, PA 17202.