David Elliott Joyner

David Elliott Joyner died peacefully in Knoxville on December 9th. Born in Yonkers, NY, he was an accomplished artist and illustrator who joined TVA’s Architectural Branch in 1970. Before beginning his career, he served in the Navy during the Korean War and was stationed in North Africa. David subsequently pursued freelance projects (including designing the cover for the official “March On Washington” album) in addition to working for architect Paul Rudolph in Manhattan. There he met Kathleen Taylor, a vivacious redhead who’d become his wife of 52 years. Military service abroad expanded David’s interests, as it had those of his mother Marie, a WWI Army nurse. The 1950s found him photographing Morocco’s maze of streets with his Rolleicord, sketching places and people in Europe, and painting in New York City. His eventual involvement with Knoxville’s arts community and with fellow members of the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Church encouraged an exchange of ideas and sharing of talents throughout decades. With Kathleen and two daughters by his side, he settled into his forever home. For David, creativity was essential. Other than the media he had long produced, he explored ceramics, printmaking, and sculpture once in Knoxville. He also played piano and ukulele while perfecting his gardening and baking skills. Although broadminded regarding religion, he loved holidays and crafted many family Christmas cards. David likewise valued ‘recharging’ during annual visits with his friend Lansing King to the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky. He appreciated diversity, respecting individuals from all walks of life. In later years, David’s focus was on writing fiction and poetry —published in “New Millennium Writings” as well as various Knoxville Writers’ Guild anthologies. He especially enjoyed participating in workshops and literature-related events such as the “Agee Amble”. Despite his various activities, David unfailingly cared for Kathleen when she succumbed to Alzheimer’s disease. His was a warm heart, and he will be greatly missed by daughters Heather and Kara Joyner, grandsons Nick Swisher and Paolo Spica, and nieces Tenja McGuire and Amber Werner, as well as by friends. Condolences and an elegy honoring David can be read online at rosefuneraltn.com. Please send email to heatherette62@gmail.com for memorial service updates. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Knoxville Writers’ Guild by contacting donwilliams7@charter.net. Elegy for My Father David Joyner Boarding school in Tarrytown in the late 1930s was no place for a boy who dreamt colors enlivened by brushstrokes. He was ripe for bullying by those who would become fathers as rough as his own. But a spirit seeking refuge in art —sometimes, somehow remains intact. The boy became a young man wearing a sailor’s suit, as stark white as Navy-issued sheets. Following streets in Morocco, what he saw was revealed upside down in his camera’s ground glass —a cacophony of vendors’ shouts and loudspeakers atop minarets summoning believers. The young man grew older, arms strong around his wife’s waist —stronger yet as he lifted a child to see beyond window panes in their Manhattan apartment, its stemware ringing with sirens. Years brought a second daughter and in time, he built a house in the woods to shelter the people he loved. All the while, the man painted skies unlike ones he had rendered for a living, his watercolor washes fluid and bright. After his children left, he lost his wife —a woman whose glow he still felt when turning to his easel and palette, their wood worn but sturdy enough for the world he loved and knew he must someday leave.

Tributes

David Elliott Joyner

December 9, 2022