Joyce B. Olasky, 81, died peacefully at home on January 27, 2022 after a long battle with heart problems. She was a beloved wife, mother, and sister who grew up to become a registered nurse, accomplished weaver, and avid volunteer. Joyce was the second of four children born to Selma and Lee Roy Blakeney. She grew up in Monetta, South Carolina in the countryside surrounded by love from family, including many nearby aunts, uncles, and cousins. She was particularly close to her beloved mother Selma and grandfather William Clifton Bolen, who ran the telegraph for the railroad just across the street from her childhood home.
Upon graduation from high school, she decided to do something her mom wished she had been able to do…become a registered nurse. Joyce saved up and moved to Charleston to attend the Medical College of South Carolina School of Nursing. It was here she went on a blind date with a dashing Citadel cadet named Charles and it was love at first sight. The two dated and became close throughout their last years of college. Charles graduated in 1959 and was deployed to Langley Field, Virginia to begin work with NASA as an aerospace engineer. Until Joyce graduated, he would make frequent weekend roundtrips to Charleston driving 500 miles each way to see her. Charles wrote her beautiful love letters and, upon her graduation from nursing school in 1961, they were promptly married the day after graduation. Joyce joined Charles in Hampton, Virginia to begin her nursing career where Charles was working on Project Mercury. In 1963, they relocated to Houston where NASA was constructing the Johnson Space Center and Charles’ work on the Apollo and future mission training would be based.
In Houston, Joyce continued her nursing career working long shifts in the ICU at Saint Luke’s Hospital. She was a volunteer Emergency Medical Technician on call during the 1970s to support the local Ambulance service. Joyce once saved a man’s life on the way to a dinner party with Charles. They witnessed a motorcycle accident and Joyce rushed to stop the man’s severe bleeding until the ambulance arrived. After years of nursing and being an EMT, Joyce became an accomplished rug and fabric weaver expanding the house to make room for her large Swedish looms. She also became a potter and joined the Houston Salt Grass Potters Guild. She spent many fun evenings with friends firing pottery in her back yard kiln and creating raku-fired pottery in holes they dug in the ground. Joyce was an avid volunteer and set up a very successful weaving program at the Center for the Disabled in Pasadena, Texas helping mentally disabled children and their working parents by providing day programs where kids could engage in positive weaving and art activities.
Joyce and Charles loved to travel and took some amazing trips to England, Scotland and Ireland with their great friends Jack and Judy Worm. They also traveled throughout Southern France with their son Chuck. Judy and Joyce met as neighbors in their first Houston apartments and remained lifelong best friends bringing our families together for big Thanksgiving celebrations every year. Joyce and Charles had a shared love for New York City and travelled there many times and loved to take train trips across the US. Joyce was an antiques shop owner for several years and loved to travel and shop with her best friends Judy, Regina, and Joan. She loved to work the Hill Country shows in Round Top Texas where she always had an amazing booth of her weaving and antiques setup. Joyce had an amazing energy and spirit for life. She was always the life of the party and loved to organize fun events and gatherings. She was an amazing cook who could make her own artisan breads, cheese, and jams. She even taught Chinese cooking in the 1970s. She led a rich and creative life full of adventures and had an amazing love for family and friends. She had a kind and generous spirit and will be missed by so many.
Joyce is survived by her two sons, Charles C. Olasky III of Plano, Texas and Philip B. Olasky of North Richland Hills, Texas; her devoted caregiver, Jessica Hearns of Fort Worth, Texas; brother and sister-in-law, Kenny and Linda Blakeney of Sunset, North Carolina; sister, Gwen Barker of Denton, Texas; brother and sister-in-law, Tim and Jackie Blakeney of Aiken, South Carolina; sister-in-law, Mary Ellen Strongoski of Tampa, Florida; sister in-law and brother in-law, Christine and Doug Lynch of Port Orange, Florida; nephew, Scott Strongoski and wife, Elizabeth of Washington, D.C.; niece, Susan Leske and husband, Brandon of Tampa, Florida; niece, Christine Wolpert and husband, Robert and great niece, Ashley Wolpert of Frisco, Texas; niece, Suzanne Barker of Denver, Colorado; niece Marianne Kraft and husband Adam of Lexington, SC; niece, Beth and husband, David Rapp and great nephew, Bryce Rapp of Denton, Texas; nephew, Kris Blakeney and wife, Janna of Aiken, South Carolina; niece, Amy Hutchins and husband, Tommy of Lake Wylie, South Carolina; as well as numerous great nephews and nieces.
Joyce was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 60 years, Charles C. Olasky, Jr.; her parents, Selma and Lee Roy Blakeney; her brother, Jack Blakeney, and her brother-in-law, Larry Strongoski, MD.
Arrangements for burial at DFW National Cemetery are pending.
John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.