A house RESOLUTION

TO EXPRESS THE PROFOUND SORROW OF THE MEMBERS OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES UPON THE PASSING OF Joyce Lorraine Davis King AND TO EXTEND THEIR DEEPEST SYMPATHY TO HER LARGE AND LOVING FAMILY AND HER MANY FRIENDS.

Whereas, the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives were saddened to learn of the death of Joyce Lorraine Davis King at the age of seventy-six on February 22, 2023; and

Whereas, born in Chester County on March 12, 1946, she was the daughter of the late Hayward Davis, Sr., and Helen Ruth Feaster Caldwell Davis.  After her father died while she was a young child, her mother raised her and her seven siblings.  She was reared in a loving home with brothers Ernest, Odell, Willie, Hayward, Jr., and Joe and with sisters Delores and Barbara where her mother stressed the importance of the reliance and love of family; and

Whereas, her mother instilled in Joyce an abiding faith that carried her throughout her life.  She accepted Christ and joined Sweet Hope Baptist Church in Chester County; and

Whereas, Mrs. Davis's formal education began in Chester County and continued at Friendship College in Rock Hill; and

Whereas, she became a licensed funeral director in both South Carolina and North Carolina and was a licensed real estate broker.  She owned and operated King Real Estate Agency in Columbia and worked in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School system in early childhood education; and

Whereas, together with her beloved husband, the late Edward Johnson "Sonny" King, Sr., she helped to expand King Funeral Home into Pageland and Great Falls in the early 1970s and in Charlotte, North Carolina, in the late 1970s.  Upon her husband's death, Mrs. Davis began to serve the Pageland community exclusively in 1994, and she and her children began a funeral home in Concord, North Carolina in 2019; and

Whereas, Mr. and Mrs. Davis reared four wonderful children: Hellen Louise King Walker, Ellen Louise King Amudipe, Edward Johnson "Lil' Sonny" King II, and William Hayward King.  Her children blessed her with the affection of five adoring grandchildren and their spouses: Sydney King Greene and Micah Greene; Oluwole Amudipe and Jacquelin Amudipe; Oladameji Amudipe; Michael Walker, Jr.; and Nicholas Walker.  She was grateful to see the continuation of her loving family legacy in two great-grandchildren, Mercy Greene and Oluwole Amudipe; and

Whereas, the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives are grateful for the life and legacy of Joyce King and for the example of love and laughter she set for all who knew her.  Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:

That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, express their profound sorrow upon the passing of Joyce Lorraine Davis King and extend their deepest sympathy to her large and loving family and her many friends.

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Joyce Lorraine Davis King.

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