Joyce Lee (Porter) McNeill was born on March 21, 1954 in Dayton, Ohio. She passed away peacefully September 30, 2024 at her residence in Lake Ozark, Missouri after a long illness. Her husband, Mike and Daughter, Ashley were by her side.
Joyce was preceded in death by her Parents, Paul Porter and Bobbie Porter and Daughter, Chantal DeShouten.
She is survived by her Husband of 41 years Mike McNeill of the home, Daughter Ashley Gonzalez, Son-In-Law Juan Gonzalez; 2 Grandsons, Dayton and Dylan Gonzalez all of Buffalo, Missouri. Son DeWayne Deshouten and Daughter-In-Law, Heather Deshouten of Mason, Tennessee, Stepmother, “Mama” Pat Porter of Falmouth, Kentucky.
Joyce attended Fayette County Tennessee Public Schools where she graduated from Fayette County High School and attended courses at Shelby State Community College in Memphis, Tennessee.
Joyce had a variety of jobs during her life including carpentry work, Owner of Porter’s Grocery in Lambert, Tennessee after her grandfather Bryan Porter’s death, Corrections Officer for Wilder Youth Development Center on Somerville, Tennessee and earlier in her career Murray Guard Company where she met her later in life husband Mike McNeill on August 25, 1974 at a Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young concert in Memphis, Tennessee.
After losing touch with each other for a number of years Joyce and Mike found each other again and were married on May 21, 1983.
During her life Joyce always had a love for animals, and she loved helping people. With these 2 loves and her husband Mike’s job in Emergency Service she soon combined those loves to help others. In 1990 she had the opportunity to get a new border collie puppy with the stipulation that she train it as a Search and Rescue Dog. This dog Lady Desiree Gold (Desi) was one of the first Search and Rescue Dogs in West Tennessee. When the FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Tennessee Task Force One was formed in the early 1990’s, Joyce was one of the original canine handlers on the team. She traveled to many seminars and SAR conferences around the country where she served as an instructor for the search dog community. She has been credited over the years for hundreds of successful missions that have helped give closure to families of missing persons.
Over the next almost 30 years she had many more dogs herself and up until her death she still helped numerous other canine handlers train their dogs for search work whether on the phone or in person.
In 1996 following the death of her daughter Chantal, her family was afforded an opportunity to move to Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri to start a new life. It did not take long for Joyce to continue her desire to help others by volunteering countless hours doing what she did best.
She was a member of Moreau Fire Protection District in Eldon, Missouri since 1996 serving as lead canine handler for the fire district until her retirement due to her health.
During her career this is some of the organizations and agencies she volunteered to work with on various projects and cases whether it be Law enforcement, Lost person or article search. FBI, ATF, Dept of Treasury, TN Bureau of Investigation, TN Western District US Attorney’s Office, TN Emergency Management Agency, North Carolina Emergency Management Agency, MS Emergency Management Agency, West TN Canine SAR, Missouri Canine SAR, Fayette County TN Sheriffs Dept, Desoto CO MS Sheriffs Dept, Fayette County TN Emergency Management Agency, Fayette County TN Fire Services, SEMA, Durham County NC Emergency Management Agency, Search Dogs South, North American Search Dog Network, North American Search and Rescue, Miller County Sheriff Dept., Lake Ozark Police Dept. Morgan County Sheriffs Dept and numerous other fire and law enforcement agencies in Missouri, the Mid-West and the Mid-South.
Joyce will be greatly missed by her friends and family.
In lieu of flowers, please help the family with funeral expenses by going to https://mason-griffith-foundation.givecloud.co/fundraising/forms/GZEJJPE2 or you can donate to the Missouri Firefighter Funeral Assistance Team.
Her daughter Ashley, requests if you have any stories or pictures of Joyce to please send them to hashgonza84@gmail.com
Friends will be received from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm on Saturday, October 19, 2024 at Hedges-Scott-Millard Funeral Homes-Eldon. Memorial Service will be held at 2:00 pm with Firefighter Honors following the service.
Arrangements are under the direction of Hedges-Scott-Millard Funeral Homes, 902 East North Street, Eldon, MO 65026 (573) 392-3351. Condolences may be left online for the family at https://www.hedgesscottfuneralhomes.com/obituaries/Joyce-McNeill?obId=33241761