Eda Joyce Estes Samples

Eda Joyce Estes Samples, most recently of McCordsville, Indiana, has gone home to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Born at her first home in Estill County, Kentucky, on July 13, 1933, she was 89 years old at her passing. She died on October 15, 2022 from complications of a brain tumor. Joyce is survived by her husband, John C. Samples, also from Estill County, and 89 years old. They would have been married 72 years on October 28 and would almost certainly have celebrated with another Costco hotdog, as they have done the last several years. The daughter of an itinerant country preacher, Joyce was raised in the hills of eastern Kentucky and southeastern Indiana. One of nine children born to the late Cornelius and Minnie Dell Estes, Joyce also lived with John in Upper East Tennessee; eastern Kentucky; Columbus & Cincinnati, Ohio; West Lafayette, Indiana; Garden Grove, California; and several locations in the Indianapolis area, which they called home for nearly thirty years. She would tell you that her most significant accomplishment was as a mother to her two boys and grandmother to the boy’s four children. She also treasured her life as a preacher’s wife, serving with him in more than half a dozen churches and ministering in countless revivals over nearly six decades. Joyce was a talented teacher, speaker, and writer in her own right. On occasion, she was known to fill in for her preacher husband when illness kept him from a speaking commitment. She traveled as a representative of Standard Publishing Company, presenting Sunday School and VBS materials to local churches. She shared her travel adventures and multimedia programs from around the world with groups across the US and actively participated in eastern European and Middle Eastern mission work with John. In 2016, Joyce started writing daily devotionals she would share with her family. By this past January, when she was diagnosed with a terminal illness, she had written over 1,000 of them. By the time she had to give up her labor of love several months later, Joyce’s Ponders were being distributed and shared with hundreds of people daily. She never learned to send them all at once, so she sent texts one or two at a time to whoever asked to get them. Inspired by an anniversary card she gave John in 1985, Joyce finished her first book, Life Is…, just a few days ago. And over the past two years, she wrote more than 50 essays to her family, simple stories about her simple life, and lessons she learned along the way. The family is still sorting through those, not yet having been able to read them all. Her fifteen minutes of fame nearly came on the set of the Lawrence Welk Show in the mid-70s when the iconic host chose her—on camera—to dance with him on the show, and she turned him down. It was never clear whether she was more worried about what her late father would have thought of that, or perhaps it was because she had skipped a church event to attend the program and was afraid some members would see her on TV. Her delightful sense of humor required her to tell that story on herself many times, once she escaped California. Joyce was perhaps best known by those closest to her as a provider of care and friendship to the marginalized and forgotten. From the elderly without families to the impoverished without hope and the wanderers without homes, she modeled the love of Christ without fanfare. She opened her own home, gave her valuable time, and committed her considerable energies to help others. Her ‘retirement’ years were spent largely helping raise her twin grandsons following the unexpected death of their father. In addition to her parents, Joyce was preceded in death by her eldest son, Dr. Alan Dain Samples, in 1993 (and his wife Pat, in 2017); brothers Joe Estes (Ruth) and Doug Estes (Catherine); sisters Agnes Byrd (Howard), Gladys Maple (Robert), and Louverta Belle Estes. She is survived by her husband, John C. Samples, and her second son, John W. Samples (Bobbi) of McCordsville, Indiana; her brother Ike Estes (Grace) of Richmond, Indiana; sisters Eula Champion (LB) and Sue Bass (Edwin) of Avon, Indiana. Surviving grandchildren are Shayne (Joelle) Samples of Noblesville, Indiana; LTC Alain Samples of Indianapolis; Galen (Darcy) and WO1 Ehren Samples of Noblesville; great-grandsons Bennett and Easton Samples, also of Noblesville. As she requested because of her love for the people of God, a Celebration of Life service will be held Sunday, October 23, 2022 at East 91st Street Christian Church, 6049 E. 91st Street, Indianapolis, IN 46250 with visitation one hour prior. Please make celebration donations to the e91Foundation.org, Remember-The-Children.org and the Christian Holy Land Foundation (CHLF.org).

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Eda Joyce Estes Samples

July 13, 1933 - October 15, 2022