Graveside services for Joyce McLain will be held Thursday, March 18, 2021, at 10 a.m. from McLain Chapel Cemetery with Rev. Shane Martin and Rev. Ron Thames officiating. McClain-Hays Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Mrs. McLain, 71, of Philadelphia, died Monday, March 15, 2021.

She was a native and lifelong resident of Neshoba County and a graduate of Neshoba Central High School. She received her Nursing degree from the University of Southern Mississippi and retired in 2020. Mrs. McLain was a member of McLain Chapel Church and also attended Pine Lake Church in Flowood.

To memorialize Joyce McLain is not an easy task. She was larger than life to many, and there just aren't enough words to honor her properly. First and foremost, Joyce was a caregiver at heart, and she spent her life loving and nurturing others. Joyce spent many years working as a RN at the University Medical Center in Jackson. Her coworkers described her as, " focused, generous, a motivator, having a contagious joy, thorough, and always had your back." Above all, her family was her life, and she loved them with a fierceness few have ever known. Her son and grandchildren were her entire world, and she cherished them dearly. She was a wonderful friend to many and loyal to a fault. Joyce had a passion for great food, travel, new experiences, fashion, and making others smile. If you ever needed to be uplifted, encouraged, or have a good laugh Joyce was your girl! One of her greatest contributions in society was her work with rescue animals. She provided a home, care, and love for countless injured and orphaned animals over the years.

While the void caused by her passing can never be filled, we should remember her the way she would want to be remembered...full of joy, charm, wit, devotion, love, tenacity for life, and always ready to take on the world... as long as she had on her favorite shade of lipstick!

Survivors include her son, Scott McLain of Philadelphia; grandchildren, Emily McLain Cole (Brenton) and Gracy McLain; great-grandchild, Cruze Cole; sisters, Johnnie Cile Thames (Ron) of Freeport Fla., and Deborah "Cotton" McKinnion of Philadelphia; brother, Michael Keith McKinnion (Connie) of Noxapater; a host of nieces and nephews.

Mrs. McLain was preceded in death by her husband, Ronald "Jim" McLain.