Joy Triggs Tyner

Joy Triggs Tyner was taught about Jesus as a child and she accepted Him as her Savior. She grew to understand what a relationship with Christ looked like as a young adult and learned how to trust and depend on her Savior as she went through life. As an adult, every decision Joy made was to please, serve, and share with others about her Savior. On June 30, 2026, Joy got to meet her Savior face to face.

A native of Yazoo City, Mississippi, Joy experienced a wonderful childhood there. She would go on to graduate from Yazoo City High School in 1982 and then attend Mississippi State University and later, Mississippi College. By her own admission, Joy went to MSU in search of a “Mrs.” degree and that part of her education didn’t take long. Before classes even started in her freshman year she went to a “Welcome” party on a Tuesday night at the Baptist Student Union (BSU) on campus. She introduced herself to a senior, not mentioning that she was a freshman, and they hit it off. William asked Joy and her roommate to go with him to church supper the next night. Thursday saw William and Joy together again as they talked for hours on end. Friday evening they discussed their marriage and Joy said “yes”. They got engaged “officially” at Christmas and two years later were married, even before Joy earned her other degree. That other degree would be in “Elementary Education”, and it would be God’s calling on her life.

After her graduation from MSU in 1986, Joy began what would be an incredible 39 year career in education. As William pursued his career, Joy accepted teaching positions at each location; Madison County Schools, Yazoo City Schools, Tupelo Public Schools, Jackson Public Schools, and then back to Madison County Schools. She would have said she was a “good” teacher, but not a “great” teacher. She knew she was making a difference and that she was where God called her to be, but she wanted to do more. It was about this time that her principal came to her with an opportunity, get her administrative certification, and come to work for her. Joy’s first thought was, I love kids – that’s who I want to be around, I can’t have an impact on them as an administrator! The next six years as an Assistant Principal would began to shape how she would prove that idea so very wrong, and how she would lead when she was finally a principal.

Another couple of moves saw Joy back in the classroom as a multi-age teacher and a developmental reading teacher.

In 2004 she would accept a job as Assistant Principal at Northside Elementary in Clinton, MS. She would have the privilege to serve there and learn for the next 5 years and become Principal of Northside in 2009.

Joys ideas for creating an environment where school was fun, teachers enjoyed coming to work, and kids were always the first priority was about to take shape.

Over the next 7 years, Northside Elementary became one of the top elementary schools in Mississippi. The school would win lots of awards and receive much recognition for their achievements. They even hosted First Lady Michele Obama and the Rachel Ray Show. Northside moved into a new multimillion dollar building in 2012 and didn’t miss a beat. The Northside staff would later help Joy and her husband through the death of their oldest daughter, Perry, in 2013 and still continue to achieve great success. Three years later when the Tyners youngest daughter, Molly, became ill, circumstances dictated that Joy retire in Mississippi after 29 years and follow Molly and her husband to Alabama to help take care of her following a stem cell transplant. While in the hospital Molly talked her mother into applying for a position as Principal in Trussville, Alabama. Joy didn’t think there was much need, but applied to appease her daughter. Joy would soon accept the job as Principal of Cahaba Elementary, a brand new K-5 elementary school. She would miss the opening day of school that year though, to attend Molly’s funeral. While many thought the Tyners might return to Mississippi, a fresh start in Trussville was God’s plan for Joy and her husband.

Joy would lead Cahaba through the next decade with those same ideologies about education and saw those theories proved again as the school earned an “A” grade every year and became one of the top elementary schools in Alabama. Joy made the students her priority and always amazed them by knowing all 500 plus of their names and remembering them when they came back from upper grades in the future. In December 2025, Joy decided the time had come for her to finally retire and that retirement was announced in February 2026. The diagnosis of a rare cancer, Neuroendocrine Carcinoma in April would unfortunately cut that retirement very short.

If you had asked Joy about her life, she and William would both tell you they were very blessed. Their Christian faith was evident in their daily lives. Joy had numerous opportunities to share her faith and the witness of a strong dependence on her Savior. She was always bold in sharing how God had brought her through the deaths of her daughters, and later the deaths of her parents. Joy also was clear that prayer was the cornerstone of her life and work, nothing was too small to pray about. She didn’t get caught up in so many of the things most of us worry about, she just loved people the way Jesus would! Joy had a sign in her office at Cahaba that read, “Work Hard and Be Nice”. That was almost correct, it should have read, ‘Work Hard and Love Everyone” That was Joy Triggs Tyner!

Joy was preceded in death by two daughters, Perry Tyner Tate and Molly Tyner Boland. Parents, Gene and Robbie Triggs and father-in-law, Dr. Fred H.Tyner, Jr.

She will be greatly missed by her loving husband of just over 42 years, William Tyner, of Trussville, AL. Her brother, Austin and Dr. Betsy Triggs of Nashville, TN. Her brother-in-law, Charlie and Angie Tyner of Collierville , TN. Niece, Elizabeth Triggs Tipton (Hughes) of Nashville, TN. Nephews, Andrew Triggs (Mary Fowler) of Nashville, TN. , John Luke Tyner (Morgan) of Fairhope, AL., Ryan Tyner (Hannah) of Memphis, TN. and Logan Tyner of Collierville, TN. She will also be greatly missed by her mother-in-law, Jane Tyner of Tupelo, MS. and her best friend, Jana Carter of Clinton, MS. Joy will also be missed by her “sons” Derrik Boland and Garon Tate. She was also loved by numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, and a host of other family and friends.

Joy loved many things; while God, family, friends, and children topped the list, she loved so much more. She loved her Praise and Worship music and wasn’t afraid to play it loud! She loved to sing as a soloist and part of ensembles, and was a highly trained classical pianist. She loved all things MSU and loved returning to campus and ringing her cowbell! She was known to ring it in the halls of Northside and Cahaba too! She loved teaching a small group that met in the Tyners home for the last four years. She said getting to know and love on those young people, and their kids, was one of the biggest blessings in her life. She loved the outdoors; watching Molly play and coach softball, being on the lake and fishing with William, shopping with Perry, and being at the beach with family and friends. She was always up for travel and an adventure!

There will be two Celebration of Life services. First Baptist Church in Trussville, AL and Morrison Heights Baptist Church in Clinton, MS. Joy will be buried in Lakewood Memorial Park in Clinton, MS alongside her daughters. The two services are being held because of the large number of lives Joy impacted in each location. Joy wanted to ask that if you attend, please attend the location that is most convenient for you. Service times are:

Monday, July 6 at FBCT Visitation 5:00-7:00

Tuesday, July 7 at FBCT Visitation 1:00-2:00

Service 2:00

Thursday, July 9 at MHBC Visitation 11:00-1:00

Service 2:00

Burial

William would like to thank UAB Oncology, UAB Infusion Center, UAB Palliative Care, and ACG Hospice for their care, support, and very genuine concern for Joy during this process. He would also like to thank The Cahaba Elementary Family – especially Amanda Pennington, FBC Trussville, their Ballard Place neighbors, and the entire community of Trussville for their love and support during this time, and for the past 10 years.

In lieu of flowers, William believes Joy would suggest gifts to others. She loved her church, FBC Trussville, and the ongoing building campaign for middle school space. Other options would be pre-school, children, high school, senior adult, and music ministries. If FBCT isn’t your church, make an extra gift to your church. Give to schools, the library, historic society, sports programs, or any other local programs that help others. Love with Joy!

Finally, Joy’s father had lots of sayings that he loved to use over and over. Looking at the outpouring of affection from across several states, he would have been very proud of Joy and said, “That girl cut a wide swath” Indeed she did!