Joyner, Sarah Baker Austin ( Mrs. Nicolas E.)
10/14/1968
MRS. NICOLAS E. JOYNER
March 2, 1876-October 14, 1968
Mrs. Nicolas E. Joyner, nee Sarah Baker Austin, granddaughter of Professor A. R. Holcombe of Centenary College, and grandniece of Bishop Christian Kenner, joined the church Triumphant October 19, 1968, having celebrated her 92nd birthday on March 2, 1968. She was the widow of Dr. Nicolas E. Joyner, to whom she was married on December 29, 1897. A gracious and talented woman of great charm, she was a true helpmate to her dynamic and forceful preacher husband through years of missionary service in Mexico and many pastorates in the Louisiana Conference, including several years as pastor of the First Methodist Church in Minden. It was to Minden that they returned upon retirement in 1943, and there they lived vigorously and helpfully for many years. There Mrs. Joyner continued to live until she was called home almost ten years after her husband entered that house “not made with hands, eternal in the heavens”.
Mrs. Joyner was widely read, gifted in many ways, a fine homemaker and mother, an artist with her cookery and flowers and entertaining. She was an asset to the church, the Women’s Society of Christian Service, and to the clubs to which she belonged. Along with her husband she was greatly loved by the entire community and revered for her splendid Christian spirit and her winsome personality.
She is survived by two sons, Calvin Joyner of Washington, D.C. and Dr. Austin Joyner of Riveredge, N.J.; four daughters: Mrs. L. P. Dixon of Belcher, La.; Mrs. Sarah Harp and Miss Anna K. Joyner of Lake Jackson, Texas; and Miss Elvina Carre Joyner of Pineville; and by seven grandchildren and a number of great-grandchildren.
In a special edition of First Methodist Minden’s PULPIT and PEW in 1956 honoring Dr. And Mrs. Joyner on their 85th and 80th birthdays, Rev. Dan R. Robinson, pastor at that time, wrote this bit of verse in tribute:
“When God made the N. E. Joyners
I think He broke the mold.
They’ve been around a long, long time,
But still they don’t seem old.
Their hearts are big as all outdoors;
And their faith never seems to shrink—
They mix real love with all their chores,
And yet, both say just what they think.”
Source: Journal Louisiana Conference, 1969; p. 230 By J. J. Caraway
