Danville, Illinois - Joy Louise Hancock 81 died May 6th at the Hawthorne Inn after a decades long battle with Parkinson's.

She was born November 2 1943. Her parents were Glen Dale Knight and Myrtle Underwood Knight. She grew up in rural Carroll Township near Indianola and graduated from Indianola grade school and from Jamaica High school class of 1961.

She married Freddie Hancock January 18 1964 and they lived in Fairmount for many years until they decided to part ways.

She graduated from the DJC school of nursing in 1974 and worked as an LPN at St Elizabeth hospital until it closed. She then worked various locations as a nurse including the prison and numerous doctor's offices until she retired in 2008.

She was in a long time relationship with Fred Wheeler sharing their lives together and building a house which they considered their greatest achievement. He preceded her in death in 2017.

She loved to travel and took 2 trips to Europe and several cruises. She loved to visit her relatives in West Virginia and enjoyed nothing more than going to see her aunts and cousins who lived there. She was also very fond of her relatives in Illinois and tried to keep in touch with everyone who she remembered from her younger years.

She had a kind heart and could not resist taking in a stray animal and gave motherly love to many an abandoned stray giving them a loving home they otherwise never would have had.

She is survived by her sister Melody Knight of San Francisco California, her brother Brian Knight and his wife Ellen of Ladoga Indiana, her best friend Anna Kukla and her husband Tom of Danville, Friend Frank Lawrence of rural Danville , 5 cats and the neighbor's dog.

There will be a celebration of life at a later date.