Joan Thackston Black

Spartanburg, SC- Joan Thackston Black died peacefully Friday, May 20, 2016. A private service in celebration of her life was held Monday, May 23rd at Church of the Advent. Daughter of Jones Christopher and Inez Rogers Thackston, she was born and raised in Simpsonville, SC. She was one of five siblings, and was best known for being Miss Greenville, SC, crowned in 1952. That year she finished runner-up as Miss South Carolina. She married our father Sam Orr Black, Jr, MD in 1960, joining with his existing children, Samuel (Sandy) Orr Black, III and Nancy Ann Black to eventually have a family of five children. Everyone says Mom was stunningly beautiful. But her beauty was only the exterior of a singularly unique, complex and fascinating woman. She could light up a room without effort. She was courageous, creative and unpredictable. She became adept at golf, gardening, fishing, arts and crafts, photography (sometimes to an aggravating level for her subjects), antiquing, shooting, and even painting. She was a lifelong contract bridge player and obtained her Life Master Certificate in 2009. But far and away, Mom’s lifelong passion was for her children and grandchildren. While we were growing up, she was an active fan, ardent supporter and oftentimes photographer of our school activities, sporting events and extracurricular activities. She took great pride in our accomplishments and we each have overflowing scrapbooks to prove it. As we kids became parents, she embraced the role of grandmother with zeal. She would read to them, take them on excursions, play games, craft, and, yes, subject them to the occasional photo shoot. A proud grandmother, she was an avid attendee at their school and sporting events, and artistic performances. Mom leaves behind we three children: Barry Leigh Black; Mary Joan Black, MD and husband Bob Ryan; (all of Spartanburg); and Hugh Ratchford Black, II, MD and wife Mary Katherine Hamner Black of Charlotte, NC. Her six grandchildren are by age: Sarah Katherine Black, recent graduate of Appalachian State University who will matriculate this fall into Northwestern University’s PHD Audiology program; Kelly Marie Ryan, a senior Biology major and Psychology minor at Clemson with the intent to enter medical school next fall; Samuel Orr Black, IV, a sophomore business major at Clemson; Mary Brennan Ryan a sophomore in drama at New York University, Tisch School of the Arts; Patricia Joan Ryan junior at Spartanburg High School who will “blow us all away”; and Barry Tanner Black, a fifth grader at OP Earle, whose love and understanding for his grandmother even during the worst of her illness was remarkable, especially for a ten year old. We already see much of Mom in our children. They have interests and talents in fishing, theatre, voice, sports, the outdoors, photography, and drawing, to name a few. All share her love of family and have her keen wit, easy laugh and incredible intellect. We would like to thank Lisa Alexander and Ms. Lou Browning for their love and dedication to Mom while still at home, and the staff at Eden Terrace, Spartanburg Rehab Institute, White Oak Nursing Home, and especially the Regional Hospice House. We thank Leigh Ann Thompson for always answering the phone and solving issues no one else could. We extend a heartfelt thank you to Wally and Bert Barre and Colonial Trust for their infinite patience. A sincere thank you to Reverend Ned Morris for allowing Mom a memorial service “outside the box,” and to Jimmie Dunbar for doing what he does so incredibly well. Last, a special heartfelt thank you to our sister, the Reverend Ann Black Tollison, for her gift of a beautiful homily. It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to this complex and remarkable woman we call Mom, but we are happy that her long and bitter struggle with dementia is at an end. She will be with us through our thoughts and memories, and especially our children, as a little of Joan Etta lives in us all. Love, Barry, Mary Joan and Hugh. Memorials can be made to Mobile Meals, P O Box 461, Spartanburg, SC 29304 or Regional Hospice Home, 686 Jeff Davis Drive, Spartanburg, SC 29303.