It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our cherished mother, Joyce Blees

Bonsdale Durden. Joyce left us peacefully on May 23, 2025, leaving behind a legacy of

warmth, kindness, and unwavering strength. Joyce lived a vibrant life, filled with passion,

and zest. She had an amazing gift for design, a creative eye for color. She was passionate

about sewing and creating and maintaining a beautiful yard. Her creativity was not just a

hobby but the very essence of who she was, always making the world around her more

beautiful.

Joyce Durden was born in Hempstead , New York, on April, 3, 1938 to Arthur V. Blees and

Helen Blees Bonsdale. Her family moved to Hollywood, Florida when she was a young

girl. This is where she met her husband, Jim Fred Durden. They married in 1956. Fred and

Joyce were married for 68 years prior to his passing in 2024.

Joyce's natural beauty and spirited nature made it easy for her to channel those gifts into a

life-long career in sales. She was the number one seller of Kirby vacuums in her region for

years.

In 1977 she and her husband moved to Vidalia, Georgia and were business owners of the

Vidalia Vacuum and Fabric Center until they retired. Her husband, Fred Durden, built their

home in Soperton Georgia in 1992 where they lived for 32 years. They also enjoyed a

second home on Lake Sinclair for years, where Joyce once again created a beautiful home

and yard.

Joyce Durden is predeceased by her husband, Jim Fred Durden, and her 3 siblings, Joan

Maggio, Virginia Burns, and George V. Bonsdale.

Left to cherish her memory are her two daughters, Susan Durden (Celia Sunne) of

Eatonton Georgia, Lisa Durden Hammock (Bill Hammock) of Vidalia Georgia, her two

grand-children, Derek Cole Hammock, (Sierra Hammock), Hilary Hammock Schofill, (Case

Schofill) and two great grand children, Eva Grace Schofill and Eli Casen Schofill.

At the heart of her existence was her unwavering love for her two daughters. Her memory

will live on in the beauty she created and the love she so freely gave, from calling out Bingo

at the local nursing home for years to the amazing hams she cooked for the family

reunions.

Joyce's spirited personality and her light, always radiating from her as she navigated the

joys and challenges, is a guidepost for all of us of how to approach all aspects of our lives.

She will be deeply missed and forever cherished by her family, and all those she touched

along the way.

Funeral services will be conducted at 11:00 am on Wednesday, May 28, 2025 in the Williams Chapel of Sammons Funeral Home with Reverend Milton Thomas officiating.

Mrs. Durden will be laid to rest beside her husband in Westview Cemetery.

Serving as pallbearers will be: Herbert Green, Lucky Kicklighter, Luke Kicklighter, Billy Richardson, Raymond Richardson and John Lewis Richardson.

Her family will receive friends on Wednesday morning, at Sammons Funeral Home, from 10:00 am until the hour of service.

Please share a memory, leave a condolence message and sign the online guest register at www.sammonsfuneralhome.com

SAMMONS FUNERAL HOME, Family Owned and Operated Since 1917.

912-529-4411 or 478-455-0671