A 4-H agent retires
Joyce Doyle’s career of service
TO START AT THE BEGINNING, when she was only 4 years old, Joyce Doyle lost sight in her right eye after being accidentally struck by a tree limb while following her older brother as he brought dairy cows from the pasture on the family farm in Grant County.
Now 82, she still recalls how her disfigured and discolored right eye resulted in her being bullied at school.
Classmates avoided her during recess, and often called her “three eyes” because of the thick lens she wore to protect her other eye. She never wanted to tell her mother about the bullying, knowing the guilt her mother already felt because of the accident.
Although she adored her first-grade teacher—whose kindness inspired her desire to teach—she endured headaches from eye strain through most of her schooling, and made only average grades.
“When I was a senior, a counselor told me not to go to college,” she remembers. “He said, ‘You’re not college material, and you’ll just be wasting your parents’ money.’”
That was all Joyce needed to hear. She went on to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Morehead State and Georgetown College, respectively, and Rank 1 teaching certification from the University of Kentucky. She became a Grant County teacher and administrator for 38 years, married a teacher and now is a great-grandmother.
As a school principal, each morning during announcements, she reminded students that she loved them, and as director of pupil personnel she sometimes dressed in a Care Bear costume and handed out fruit to elementary kids.
Having retired from public education, she has served as a 4-H Youth Development extension agent since 2003, first in Grant County, then in Carroll. She and her many volunteer coaches have assisted 4-H members with at least 100 Kentucky State Fair entries each year.
“I was ready to give up public education, but I wasn’t ready to give up children and teaching,” she says. “I love to see those little faces when the light bulb comes on and they learn something.”
During her youth in Grant County, Doyle’s family was served by Owen Electric, and the cooperative has been a dedicated supporter of her 4-H programs.
Now, 61 years after her career began, she is leaving with too many awards to mention and a library of blue-ribbon memories—one of which is a long, heart-warming letter from a former 4-H member named Zach, who has autism:
“Every once in a while, someone comes along who completely changes the course of your life,” he wrote. “For me that person is my 4-H leader, Joyce Doyle. Joyce didn’t just lead our club, she led with her heart. She didn’t just teach us how to do projects … she taught us how to believe in ourselves. More than anything, she believed in me. And that made all the difference … She modeled the kind of leader I want to be.”
What’s next for Joyce Doyle? Maybe, she says, she’ll be a volunteer at her church’s Christian school in Williamstown.
