PORTSMOUTH - Dr. David Irving Joyner, 74, passed away Sunday, Aug. 7, 2011. Dr. Joyner, a graduate of Virginia Tech and William and Mary, began his career teaching industrial arts at Cradock High School in 1958 and was on the Education faculty at Old Dominion University from 1966 through 2002, serving for part of that time as dean of the department. Having been elected to two terms on the Portsmouth School Board, he was on the Board of Directors for WHRO, was a deacon and Sunday school teacher at Churchland Baptist Church, and a member of the Kiwanis Club of Portsmouth. David loved sports, woodworking, boating, fishing, and spending time with his family.

Dr. Joyner is survived by his wife of 53 years, Jean Iris Overby Joyner; son, Michael Joyner and wife Christian; son, Jeff Joyner and partner Ron Milovac; two grandchildren, Iris Ann and Graydon Michael Joyner. Other survivors include brother Ulysses P. Joyner and wife Martha Barham Joyner; brother, William T. Joyner; sister-in-law, Carolyn O. Parrish; aunts and uncles, Zeulene Sykes, Bess Sheldon, and Frank and Glenelle Bryant; and dear friends, Wayne and Cheryl Blythe and Harold and Helene Walton.

A funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday in Churchland Baptist Church by the Rev. Lawrence B. Coleman with burial in Churchland Baptist Church Cemetery. The family will receive friends in the church from 10 to 10:45 a.m. prior to the funeral.

Memorial contributions may be made to Churchland Baptist Church and online condolences may be made at www.lovingfuneralhome.com.

Published in The Virginian Pilot on August 9, 2011