Joyce Shinault Choate, Professor Emerita, the University of Louisiana Monroe, died on July 25, 2024 at the age of 84.
Daughter and only child of Spain J. and Ozite Aycock Shinault of Memphis (deceased), she grew up in Memphis and earned the B.S. degree from the University of Tennessee, where she was an officer of Zeta Tau Alpha. She also held the M.Ed. and Ed.D. from the University of Memphis. After teaching lower grades in the Memphis area and special education in Louisiana, she joined the faculty at the University of Louisiana Monroe (ULM). Over the next 30 years her roles at ULM included associate dean of the College of Education and Human Development, interim dean, accreditation coordinator, and professor. Author, co-author, and/or editor of 17 college textbooks, Dr. Choate also served as national president and later publications chairperson of the Council for Educational Diagnostic Services, a division of the Council for Exceptional Children. Among her professional awards were ULM Outstanding Researcher (first woman to hold the honor), CEDS Significant 10, Louisiana CEC Lifetime Achievement, Kitty DeGree endowed professorship, and John Mullens honor professorship. In 2006, she retired from ULM and moved to be close to family in Jackson, TN, where she continued writing, consulting, and occasional adjunct teaching for University of Memphis for the next several years.
An avid reader, she found fulfillment in her profession and especially in her close-knit family. She was happily married for more than 60 years to her very best friend and love of her life, Jerry J. Choate, until his death in 2021. Jerry’s phenomenal patience partially counter-balanced her characteristic impatience. She leaves their two daughters: Alison Choate Odle and husband Bill of Trenton, TN, and Angela Choate Youngberg and husband Kevin of Brentwood, TN; four grandchildren: Timothy and Emily Odle and Eric and Collin Youngberg; sister-in-law Emily Teresa Choate and husband Cliff Jewell of Plainfield, NJ; “niece” Mary Anne McKinnon Wilkenson of Oxford, MS; mentor and trusted friend Dr. Thomas A. Rakes of Collierville, TN; as well as her faithful companion schnauzer, Midnight Magic.
At her request, a private family service will be held at a later date. The family asks that any memorials be made to the University of Louisiana Monroe, Teacher Education, through the ULM Foundation, https://ulm.academicworks.com (318) 342-5424, or to a favorite charity.
Arrington Funeral Directors, 148 W. University Parkway, Jackson, TN 38305, 731.668.1111
