Joyce Ellis Fant, 82, of the Bowens Mill Community, died Monday, May 19, 2014 at her residence.
Funeral services will be held 11 A.M., Friday, May 23, 2014, at The Gathering Place at Bowens Mill Christian Center in Ben Hill County. Interment will follow in the Sandy Ridge Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 7-9 Thursday evening at the funeral home in Fitzgerald.
Mrs. Fant was born January 2, 1932, in Fulton County, Georgia to the late Glenn A. and Ruth Presley Ellis. She moved to the Bowens Mill Community in 1979 from Mississippi. She was a homemaker. Mrs. Fant also served as a helpmate to her husband while he served the Lord as a Pastor. In addition to their ministry at Bowens Mill, they traveled together to Venezuela, Canada, Mexico, and throughout the United States teaching marriage and child training classes. Her ministry touched many lives resulting in many calling her Mom and Grandma. Her extended family is a testimony of her lifetime service to the Lord.
She is survived by her children and their spouses: James E., Jr. & Becky Fant of the Bowens Mill Community, Mary Ruth & Roger Knapp of Fitzgerald, Carolyn & Matt Constantino of Atlanta and Glenn Ellis & Lisa Fant of Proctor, Montana; ten grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; and two sisters: June & Samuel C. Lunsford of Fayetteville and Janet Lunsford of Marietta. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband: James E. “Jim” Fant; a sister: Joanne Fitzpatrick and two brothers-in-law: Fred Lunsford and Don Fitzpatrick.