Joyce Milsap is mostly known as the celebrity wife of Country music star, Ronnie Mislap. She was married to the American country music singer and pianist for about six decades until her passing on September 6, 2021. Details about her death were not made public but she is known to have been battling leukemia since 2014.
Joyce Milsap Passed at the Age of 81
Joyce was born on July 25, 1941, in Gainesville, Georgia. Not much is in the public space about her early life, family, and education as she was mostly known as the celebrity wife of Ronnie Milsap whom she married in 1965. The pair’s union lasted for 56 years before Joyce passed on September 6, 2021, aged 81. After she passed, her husband revealed how much of a blessing and inspiration she had been to him. In his words;
There are no words, and not enough songs in the world to explain how much I love my Sapphire. She was the music and the feeling inside all of those songs, so if you loved my music, you understand some of how much I loved my beautiful, beautiful wife. It’s all in the songs, but she was even more. She was the love of my life, the mother of my son, the world’s happiest grandmother—and someone who woke up every day curious and ready for whatever adventure she could get into.
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Did You Know These Facts About Joyce Milsap?
1. She first met her husband at a dinner party in Georgia
Joyce was born and had her early childhood in Gainesville, Georgia. This happens to be where she met her husband while he was a student at Young Harris College. According to sources, the pair met at a dinner party and despite the challenges Ronni had with his sight, it did not come in between what Joyce felt for him.
2. Joyce inspired many of her husband’s greatest hits
The late celebrity wife was a perfect example of a support system. Her husband had often highlighted how she encouraged him from the early days of his career to stardom. Ronnie has also said that his wife was the muse and inspiration for many of his biggest hits, including Daydreams About Night Things, Smokey Mountain Rain, Show Her, and Don’t You Know How Much I Love You. She also inspired the 1985 and 1986 Grammy-winning Lost in the ‘50s Tonight. Joyce further encouraged him to create a home in Music City (Nashville, Tennessee), where they decided to settle at the end of 1972.
3. She lost her only son in 2019
Joyce and her husband were blessed with a son named Ronald Todd Milsap. Ronald was born in 1970. He worked as a concert promoter before going on to spend the rest of his career in production management for his father. Unfortunately, he was found dead by his son on his houseboat at Four Corners Marina on February 23, 2019, from an apparent medical condition. He was aged 49.
At the time of his death, Ronald was survived by his parents, Ronnie and Joyce Milsap. Also, left to mourn him were his wife Yogi Milsap, and kids, Kye, Asher, Mya, and Wyler.
4. Was she also a singer?
Joyce was not a singer like her husband. But her husband has said that she made invaluable inputs into his several works. According to him, she had a great ear for music and helped him with his music lyrics. Moreover, she is said to have had a good eye for real estate.
5. Her husband has an impressive career record
As a child, Milsap developed a passion for music and when he turned 7, his instructors noticed how exceptional his talents were. He began formal study of classical music at Governor Morehead and was introduced to several instruments; eventually mastering the piano.
Joyce Milsap’s husband, Ronnie Milsap maintains his spot as one of America’s top country music singers and pianists. Though he was born almost blind, he did not allow his limitations to deter him. Moreover, when he was 14, a slap from one of the school’s houseparents caused him to lose the limited vision he had in his left eye. Notwithstanding, he rose to become one of country music’s most popular and influential performers of the 1970s and 1980s.
He is credited with six Grammy Awards and 35 number-one country hits, fourth to George Strait, Conway Twitty, and Merle Haggard. He was also selected for induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2014.
