Joy Mooney
Joy Lynn Cornell Mooney passed away Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022.
A celebration of life for Joy will be Saturday, Feb. 12, at 1 p.m. in the First United Methodist Church in Hamilton.
Joy was born Oct. 24, 1939, 15 minutes ahead of her twin, Mary Beth, to her surprised but ecstatic parents, Lynn and Hazel (Larned) Cornell.
Joy was born in Stephenville and lived there throughout her early life. An avid student, she was valedictorian of the class of 1958 at Stephenville High School and finished second in her class at Tarleton State College in 1960, completing her bachelor’s at North Texas State in 1962.
She later returned to Tarleton, by then a full university, to add a Master’s in English to her educational resume. While at Tarleton, Joy met James Mooney. Proving opposites attract, Joy and James became inseparable and married June 2, 1962. Joy was the innocent to James’ rascal, and together they enjoyed nearly 60 years of Jeopardy, antiques, literature and genealogy.
Joy doted on her nieces like her own until James Mooney Jr. (Jim) arrived and completely captured her heart. Being a boymom was not natural to Joy, but her adoration of Jim forced her to learn about sports, sweat and dirt. Jim fathered two sons, giving Joy her best title, “Garm” to Cole and Garrett.
Joy lived a life of service. In addition to her decades of teaching English to high school students, she was active in her church and many civic organizations. Hundreds of Mineral Wells High School students owe their love of literature and ability to construct a good sentence to Joy’s teaching.
The only area she was more passionate about than education was her church, the United Methodist. Joy was a staunch Methodist and grew up active in the church, the youth group and the Wesley Foundation. She lived out the Methodist doctrine of “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, as long as ever you can.”
Joy could be found creating a program for Colonial Study Club, chairing a meeting of United Methodist Women, attending a Retired Teachers Association conference, writing a newsletter or article, hosting the Red Hatters or helping a young person apply for a scholarship.
Joy was preceded in death by her parents, Lynn and Hazel (Larned) Cornell, as well as her brother-in-law, Charles Mooney.
She is survived by her husband, James Dudley Mooney; her son, James Dudley Mooney Jr. (Jim) and Kelli Stumbo; her grandchildren, Cole Dudley and Garrett Miles Mooney. Joy was beloved by her twin sister, Mary Beth Cornell Baker, and her brother-in-law, Ronald Baker; and her nieces, Kimberly Lynn Baker Schnider (Vern), Diana Baker Freeman and Ronda Baker; her sister-in-law, Patricia Mooney and nephew, Stephen Mooney. She is also survived by her great-niece, Lynna Bartosh, great-nephews, Blake Bartosh (Courtney) and Dustin Freeman (Britney) and great-great-nieces and -nephews, Walter and Winnie Burks, Dawson and Delilah Freeman and Kaylie and Kenzlee Bartosh.
In lieu of the flowers, the family asks that Joy be honored through donations made to the Joy Mooney Memorial Scholarship fund at MC Bank in Hamilton.
