Joan "JO" Louise Linville Pardue

Joan Linville Pardue, age 91, of Yadkinville, NC died peacefully on Monday, July 24. She spent the last 3 weeks surrounded with love from her family and many friends. 

Joan was born in Kernersville, NC on July 1,1932 to Ernest Paul and Floy Louise Linville. She was the fourth of nine children and grew up on a small family farm. Joan is preceded in death by her parents, and beloved husband, Lloyd Pardue.

Joan graduated from Kernersville High School in 1950 where she was selected as “Most Athletic” her senior year. In 1953, she received her RN degree from City Memorial Hospital School of Nursing, ranking number one on the State Board Licensing Exam. She returned to her studies and earned a Bachelor of Science in nursing degree in 1976 from Winston-Salem State University. She was married to Lloyd Pardue on June 20,1952. They were married for 69 beautiful years.

Joan worked as a loving nurse in many capacities: an office nurse, private duty nurse, health department nurse and also taught nursing at Forsyth Memorial Hospital where she was named “Best All Around Instructor”. She taught Health Occupations at Starmount & Forbush High Schools. At the end of her career she worked for Yadkin County as a school nurse although she served the role of social worker as much as school nurse! The trunk of her car was known to be filled with freshly-washed clothes, separated by sizes, and shoes for children in need that she encountered at school.

Joan was an active member of First Baptist Church of Yadkinville since 1952. She led groups of Girls Auxiliary where she encouraged them to be involved in social justice activities such as caring for the poor. Her faith led to action. One of her favorite sayings was “people need help when they need help”. She lived a faith described in James 2:14~17:

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can this kind of faith save them? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm and eat well,” but you do not give them what the body needs, what good is it? So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead being by itself.

Joan was a loving homemaker and greatly cared for her family. She stayed home and cared for Sam and Ruth until they were school age. Her love for Lloyd, her children and grandchildren was her life. Taking care of others was her primary goal. She had a keen eye for someone who was hurting or in need and she sought to minister to them as best she could. Her circle of care extended to her parents, siblings, her husband and children, grandchildren and many in the community. It was not unusual for someone to ask her to come change a bandage or give them a shot at their home. Joan and Lloyd’s generosity to others was honored several years ago when they received the Philanthropist of the Year award from the Yadkin Community Foundation. 

Food and cooking were also a large part of Joan’s identity. The aroma of beef stew, fried chicken, or pork loin was a fragrance that often welcomed those in her home. She was known for making what her family called “Joan’s pound cake”, a large buttery cake that she shared with many. A unique pie that she was known for was grape pie… made from scratch using the grapes she and Lloyd grew out back. She loved green beans and corn, slaw, chocolate candy with nuts, and ice cream…lots of ice cream. 

Joan really enjoyed having her hands in the dirt. She loved flowers and was often known for purchasing waning perennials and bringing them back to life. The flower garden was an artistic pallet and creative outlet for her. When she was no longer able to work outside in her garden, she nurtured indoor plants. She also had a great collection of artificial flowers that she enjoyed bringing out at different times of the year, celebrating the seasons. 

She loved dogs, especially her grand and great-grand dogs. When Joan’s children were young, they had beagles named Speck and Spot. When her children and grandchildren started getting dogs of her own, she welcomed them warmly into her home…Well there was the initial resistance to have a dog in the house, but it wasn’t long before she started inviting them up on her bed! When one of the dogs was not not feeling up to par, she would spoon feed him a meal. She loved Roxie, Winston, Beesly, Beau and Genie.  

Joan loved many people, but none like her beloved Lloyd. Their chance meeting was, as someone said, romantically straight from a novel. Joan was studying nursing at City Memorial Hospital when the hospital asked her to make a recruiting visit to a high school in the town of Yadkinville. When she came to recruit nursing students from Yadkinville High School, Lloyd was part-time principal.  He thought she was so cute in her crisp nurse’s cap and cape and he instructed the senior advisor to find out her name and phone number. He called her that very evening.  

Joan said many times that he was the best thing that ever happened to her outside of salvation. He was the love of her life. She liked the song “Wind Beneath My Wings“ and said that Lloyd was that for her. He encouraged and supported her as she grew into her career and her life as a mother and friend to many. They enjoyed 69 wonderful years of marriage and remained deeply in love with each other.  

Joan was preceded in death by her husband, Lloyd Pardue, her parents and siblings: Horace “Buck” Crews Linville, Virginia (Jenny) Linville Ferguson, Jimmy (Jim) Phipps Linville), John Paul Linville, Sylvia Sue Stockton, and Shelby Linville Payne.

She is survived by her brother, Richard (Dickie) Gray Linville (Kay), her sister, Judy Dorene Linville; her children, Samuel Lloyd Pardue (Stacy) and Ruth Joan Pardue (Steve); her three grandchildren Caitlin Riely Pardue,Taylor Lloyd Pardue (Rachel) and Adam Franklin Braun (Hae Won) and her great grandson, Desmond Wonjae Lee Braun and many beloved nieces and nephews.  

The family thanks all the wonderful caregivers who cared lovingly for Joan and Lloyd in their final years. They made it possible for both of them to stay at home for most of their last months.  

Funeral arrangements will be by Gentry Family Funeral Home of Yadkinville, NC. A Service of Remembrance for both Joan and Lloyd will be held Saturday, September 9 at11:00 at the First Baptist Church of Yadkinville Fellowship Hall. 

In lieu of flowers, the family invites donations to an endowed scholarship

honoring Lloyd and Joan Pardue for local students attending the College of Ag &

Life Sciences at NC State University. Secure donations may be made online at: https://go.ncsu.edu/pardue_endowment or by mail to: NC

Agricultural Foundation at NC State University. [Please write a note with or on your check, “Pardue CALS Scholarship Endowment” and send to NC State Campus Box 7645, Raleigh NC 27695.]  Also, in honor of Joan’s love and concern for the children of Yadkin County, gifts can be made to the Yadkin Family YMCA’s Bright Beginnings program at: https://ymcanwnc.org/give/give-online. Gentry Family Funeral Service in Yadkinville is serving the Pardue family.