Joyce Kathleen Lee Slaten

Jan. 1, 1930 - May 29, 2023

Joyce Kathleen Lee Slaten, 93, passed away peacefully on May 29, 2023, in Cleburne, Texas.  She was with family.

Joyce was born at home in Titus County, Texas, to Walter Henry Lee and Catherine Mitchell Lee. She grew up in the country and graduated top of her class at Mount Pleasant High School in 1946. The 16-year-old valedictorian went on to attend East Texas Baptist College in Marshall, Texas from 1946-1949. She taught third grade in Hughes Springs, Texas for one year before she married the love of her life, Charles Alexander Slaten, in 1950. Charles died in 2012.

A teacher and mother, Joyce once said that she wanted 12 children; she and Charles stopped at half that number, but their children's children more than made up the difference. Joyce was a mother to six children, grandmother to nine and great-grandmother to eight.

In addition to teaching in Hughes Springs, Joyce taught high school math in Stephenville, Dublin, Mineral Wells and Grandbury, Texas. Charles taught high school math and, later, taught at Blinn College in Breham and Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas. When Charles retired, the two of them moved to Mount Vernon, Texas, where they lived for 17 years. After Charles passed away, Joyce moved to Fort Worth, where she lived for 8 years. She moved to Cleburne, Texas to be closer to family in May 2023.

Joyce is survived by her daughter Mary Kathleen Slaten Fitzhugh (Kenneth Fitzhugh) of Amarillo, Texas; her son James Lee "Jim" Slaten of Fort Worth, Texas; her son Jonathon Ray Slaten (Silvia Harter Slaten) of Lubbock, Texas; her son Steven Wayne Slaten (Bonnie Keillor-Slaten) of Fort Collins, Colorado; her daughter Charlotte Ann Slaten McNeary (William McNeary III) of Charleston, Missouri.; her daughter Patricia Jean Slaten Rogan (Steven Rogan) of Joshua, Texas; her nine grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Charles Slaten; her parents, Henry and Catherine Lee; her brother, Richard Henry Lee; and her sisters, Lillian Catherine Lee Dickerson and Elizabeth Lee Gill.

A memorial date is to be announced.

All arrangements are under the direction of McMikle Funeral Home in Charleston, MO.

Online condolences may be shared at www.mcmiklefuneralhome.com