BELT, Joy Catherine

        Joy Catherine Belt, longtime resident of Ponca City, passed away Sept. 17, 2004, at 2:10 a.m. at the home of her caregiver after a courageous struggle with two incurable diseases, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS-Lou Gehrig's Disease) and Progressive Bulbar Palsy.
         A graveside service will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, Sept. 20, at the Duncan Cemetery in Duncan under the direction of Trout Funeral Home with the Rev. Dr. Randy Scraper, pastor, First United Methodist Church, Duncan, officiating. The casket will not be open following the ceremony.
        Joy was born Aug. 3, 1927, in Webb City, the daughter of James C. ""Buck"" and Viola Miller Belt. The family moved to Duncan in 1941 where she graduated from high school in 1945. She graduated from Oklahoma College for Women at Chickasha in the spring of 1949 with a bachelor's degree in speech pathology. After graduation, she accepted a position in Poteau, and set up a department of speech therapy for the school system.  She moved to Ponca City in 1950 and was employed as a speech therapist for the Ponca City school system for 38 years. She could still tell you some of her first students' names and their parents. She retired in 1989.  She was awarded the Teacher of the Year award and was a member of the Oklahoma Teachers Association. In the past, she bowled for numerous years and was on the board of directors at the McCord Senior Citizens Center for several years.  Joy's acts of generosity, kindness, and gentleness were noticed by all who knew her. She always carried a smile and, through her illness, she never complained. ""Sometimes someone touches our heart and stays there forever.""  Survivors include a cousin, Waymon Woodland and wife Louise of Muncie, Ind.; a special friend and care-giver, Peggy Wilson; friends, John and Hester Blair of Duncan, Marilyn Best and Theila Elliot of Oklahoma City, Howard Perry of Bartlesville, Tracy and Syvanna Lange of Duncan, Leola Hester and Virgie Haines of Ponca City, and numerous other friends.  She was preceded in death by her parents, and a brother, J.C. Belt Jr. who died on April 3, 1998. Memorial contributions may be made in her name to Hospice of North Central Oklahoma, 1904 N. Union, Suite 103, Ponca City, Okla. 74601 or to the McCord Senior Citizens Center, 3390 E. Mary Rd., Ponca City, Okla. 74604.