Joyce Elizabeth Bailey Carter

Joyce Elizabeth Bailey Carter, 83, widow of Shelby O’Neil Carter passed away July 16, 2025 . Joyce was the daughter of the late Johnny “Buddy” Bailey and Massie Feaster Bailey Gregory. Memorial Service will be held 6:00 PM Monday, July 21, 2025 at Wilksburg Baptist Church with Rev. Mike Black officiating. The family will receive friends in the fellowship hall of the church immediately following the service. Interment will be private.

Born in Chester, SC on October 2, 1941, Joyce was the oldest of three daughters in a very close and loving family.. After graduating Chester High School, Joyce married the love of her life Shelby O’Neil Carter and they enjoyed almost 50 years of marriage prior to his death in 2008. They were blessed with two children, Keith and Susan. Joyce worked outside the home for a few years, before becoming a full-time mother and caregiver. Being faced with the challenge of caring for a son with Muscular Dystrophy, Joyce endured this mission with grace and dignity always acknowledging her Faith in God giving her that strength.

Her most cherished title was “Nannie”. Joyce embraced this title and did everything she could for Kaylee. As the years passed, she became known as Nannie to all of Kaylee’s friends. Nothing could compare, in Nannie’s eyes, to the love she felt for Kaylee’s son Levi. Joyce loved spending time with Kaylee and Levi.

Joyce was a devout Christian. She was a faithful member of Calvary Baptist Church in western Chester County for over 50 years. Over the years, she sang in the choir, taught the children’s Sunday school class, taught Vacation Bible School, was a director of the youth choir, served on the cemetery committee, and anything else she could do to help others.

She is survived by her granddaughter, Kaylee Bolin of Carlisle, her great-grandson, Levi Bolin of Carlisle, her brother-in-law Earl (Linda) Carter of Chester, three devoted nieces and caregivers: Cathy Carter Pierce of Carlisle, Tonya(Chris) Vance Smith of Greenville, and Kim Carter Desrosiers of Chester, and several nieces and nephews.

In addition to her parents and husband, Joyce was preceded in death by her children: Keith Carter and Susan Carter Bolin, her sisters: Ann Bailey Grant and Sandra Bailey Doster, her husband’s siblings Adeline (Julian) Faust and Billy Joe (Barbara) Carter, and her step-father Otis Gregory.

The family would like to express their gratitude and thankfulness for the compassionate care Joyce and the family received from the following: Agape, Julia Hope and Oakleigh McCorkle, Aliya Darby, Vickie Fairfax and Joyce’s church family.

Memorial may be made to Calvary Baptist Church Cemetery Fund P.O. Box 1939 Chester, SC 29706 or The Muscular Dystrophy Association www.mda.org

Online condolences may be made to the family at www.barronfunheralhome.com.