Funeral services, her “party” as she referred to it, for Mrs. Joy Elizabeth Brooks Campbell, age 97, of Ruston, LA will be held at 2:00 PM, Wednesday, October 25, 2023, at Owens Memorial Chapel in Ruston with Bro. Wayne Whiteside officiating. Burial will follow in the Greenwood Cemetery in Ruston under the direction of Owens Memorial Chapel Funeral Home of Ruston.
Joy was born October 24, 1925, in Ruston to Leonard “LK” and Lillian Edwards Brooks and passed away peacefully October 21, 2023, at her residence at Russ Place in Ruston. After graduating from Ruston High School in 1942, she completed her BA in Physical Education at Louisiana Polytechnic Institute in 1945. Joy’s plans to teach high school PE in Port Arthur, TX, were cut short when she met and fell in love with Captain Henry L. Campbell, Jr., who had just returned from serving in the United States Air Force during World War II. They were married in 1946, and the two reared four sons. Joy often worked alongside her husband during his career at a vocational school and served as an underwriter at the Campbell Agency. She was always active in her sons’ lives, including serving as a den mother in the Cub Scouts and working in various capacities with their schools’ PTA’s. Joy was also a founding member of the Culture Guild. For 30 years, she served as a Sunday School teacher at First Baptist Church. At the time of her death, Joy was a member of Cook Baptist Church. Her passion was counseling using the Bible as her textbook. “Miss Joy” counseled countless people who were usually referred to her by word of mouth. She practiced this gift for 62 years until the time of her passing. Joy was also a master storyteller who kept her sons, grandchildren and great-grandchildren mesmerized with all kinds of stories about growing up in Ruston. A favorite was her account involving Bonnie and Clyde, whose accomplices stole a car right in front of her parents’ boarding house and the kidnapping that ensued. Joy was also a remarkable poet; no birthday passed without a poem for the occasion. She was preceded in death by her husband; parents; one sister, Barbara Hammock; one brother, Ernest Brooks; two half-brothers, Leonard Brooks and Jack Brooks; and a stillborn son, Charlie Campbell.
Joy is survived by her four sons: Leonard Campbell and wife Kathy of Baton Rouge, LA, Bruce Campbell of Shreveport, LA, Dale Campbell of Bennett, CO and Brad Campbell and husband Steven Galbraith of Shreveport, LA; two grandchildren; three great-granddaughters; one great-grandson; numerous nieces and nephews; and her caregiver and friend until the end, Bobbie Goodjoint.
The family would like to thank the staff of Russ Place for their excellent care during the final years of Joy’s life as well as Dorothy Tellis and the staff of Premier Hospice. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the charity of the donor’s choosing.
Visitation will be held from 1:00-2:00 PM, Wednesday, October 25, 2023, at the funeral home.
