Mrs. Joyce McDevitt Pettis died peacefully at the age of 92 in Decatur on Sunday, August 16, 2015. She was a devoted family matriarch, continuous resident of Shubuta for 66 years, a business owner and a member of her beloved Shubuta Baptist Church since 1944.
Mrs. Pettis is survived by daughters, Sylvia McLendon (Ron) Sykes of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Chandra Pettis (Lynn) Naylor and Suzette Pettis (Philip) Tew of Decatur. Survivors also include grandchildren, James “Jamie” (Pam) Sykes, Ken (Kristin) Tew, Andrea (Michael) White, Luke Naylor and Miriam Tew; great- grandchildren, Taylor and Bailey Sykes, Kayla and Daniel White, and Elizabeth, Corban and Joshua Tew; great-great- granddaughters, Channing and Carrigan Sykes; and many beloved nieces and nephews. She is survived also by sisters, Evelyn Regina Lawless (Laurel, MS), Sallie Thornton (Hattiesburg, MS) and Shirley Clifton (Sulphur, LA).
Mrs. Pettis was preceded in death by parents, Joe and Ruby McDevitt; husbands, Dan E. McLendon and Tollie Calvin Pettis; son, Tollie Jerome “Buster” Pettis; grandsons, Tollie Chase Pettis and Matthew Pettis Naylor. She was also preceded in death by siblings, James McDevitt, Mildred Dew, Ruby Scarbrough and Fred McDevitt.
The family will receive guests at Shubuta Baptist Church, Shubuta, Mississippi, at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, August 19, 2015. Rev. Jim Harris will officiate at the funeral service to follow at 11 a.m. Serving as pallbearers are Jamie Sykes, Ken Tew, Luke Naylor, Michael White, Butch Jenkins and David West.
Interment will follow in the Shubuta Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Building Fund of Shubuta Baptist Church, P.O. Box 306, Shubuta, MS 39360 or the Matthew Pettis Naylor Memorial Scholarship at Randolph School, 1005 Drake Avenue SE, Huntsville, AL 35802. Online condolences can be given at www. wrightsfuneral.com.
