You will never meet a more loyal and loving lady than Joy Richardson Corum. She grew up in the Norwood community in Knoxville, but has deep roots and strong connections to Union County. She is the oldest of three children, having a brother four years younger and a sister nine years younger. The family lived in the same little loving home nestled into the all-American neighborhood from the time she was five until she married.
It was typical to see the children, their neighbors and cousins riding bikes up the street together or in a yard playing games. They were all family. Occasionally the kids got to take a trip to the skating rink. And as the times were, they didn’t have any kinds of Cokes, just Kool-Aid and milk; and it was a special occasion to have a hamburger.
Joy’s parents, Bill and Louise Laws Richardson, would bring the family to Union County every Sunday to attend church and visit family, and that time was the most memorable for Joy.
She shares that some of her fondest memories from childhood are those of being so innocently loved by all of her grandparents. They would visit her mother’s parents in the afternoon for lunch, Granny and Papa Laws (Charlie and Roma Jesse Laws). Then on down to Granny and Papaw Richardson’s (Luther and Susie Sexton Richardson) for supper.
Joy was the oldest grandchild at the Richardson’s and always had the best of times playing with all the cousins.
She shares with a smile, “Every Sunday evening Papaw Richardson would be on the front porch leaned back in a straight back chair. He rolled his own tobacco and would always have his little tobacco bag full of pennies to give to me.”
Her mother was born in Claiborne County, but moved to Union County when they lost their farm to the flooding from the creation of the lake. Her father was born and raised in Little Valley. She truthfully and thankfully sees her parents and grandparents as the most influential people in her life. Her parents were married for more than 50 years and she never heard an argument between them.
Joy attended Norwood Elementary School and Powell High School. In high school, she had the highest typing speed with no errors, so her teacher invited her to an interview as a Key Punch Operator in Oak Ridge. She gratefully plunged at the opportunity, but not even knowing where Oak Ridge was, her father drove her out for the interview.
She got a call the next day with a job offer. She worked there for five years on midnight shift, but she benefitted from the chance and it was a worthwhile opportunity. Eventually, she retired from Oak Ridge after making her way up to Head Secretary of the Computing and Telecommunications Department.
When Joy was twenty-two, she got off from working her all-night shift at K25 and dropped in at her daddy’s gas station on Clinton Highway. That morning, a familiar fellow came in, but as familiar as he seemed she could not place him because of the shirt he was wearing was labeled “Ed”.
She so clearly thought his name was Richard Corum, whom she had been acquainted with when he worked at Ailor Mortuary when she was a teen, yet had not seen in years. They got to chatting and it turns out it was Richard, wearing his dad’s shirt. This was in 1971, only a year before the two were married.
Joy continued to work at Oak Ridge and Richard eventually got a job in the electrical field, which he worked in for many years. When they married, they moved into a home behind his dad’s garage on Highway 61 in Luttrell. They lived on the farm, had cattle and goats.
Richard was a workaholic, and you can see that Joy surely has always been as well. They worked together and did everything together.
For 17 years, the couple tried to have a baby of their own, having a stillbirth 35 years ago. Two years later, they were blessed with a little miracle daughter, Cherish. She was born premature and weighed only two pounds and nine ounces. At 12 inches long, she would fit in the palm of your hand. She was born a fighter and spent 40 days at Children’s Hospital. During her stay, just as they began to talk about going home, she developed a staff infection that caused her to lose all of her skin—a disease called Scalded Skin Syndrome.
She was treated with strong antibiotics and did well. She has done wonderfully ever since. Joy says, “I will never forget the memory of Cherish’s birth, the memory is very vivid and I remember each detail so clearly.”
Like her mother, Cherish graduated from Powell High School, attending in Knoxville because Joy was working there at the time, and if she needed any help her mother and daddy were there.
Later she went on to the University of Tennessee, graduating with honors and advancing to pharmacy school. She now is a pharmacist in San Diego, California, where she lives with her husband, Frank, who Joy adores. He is a chemist and works on leukemia research for a pharmaceutical company.
Joy has a strong desire to one day be blessed with a grandchild of her own. Joy says of her goal as a parent, “I just wanted to raise Cherish to be what I considered a good person and see her succeed and be happy, and she has surely done that.”
Joy took an early unplanned retirement shortly after Cherish was born because she was determined to take care of her on her own. After Cherish was in kindergarten, Joy helped Richard in his electrical business. She quit working for the electric company when her husband became sick so she could spend time with him and care for him.
Pat Murphy Electric Company on Balm Drive in West Knoxville called Joy after Richard passed away seven years ago. The company was in need of her to work there for two weeks while they filled a vacant position. She gladly agreed and has been working there ever since.
She is a workaholic. She has also helped clerk at Darryl’s Auction for over 30 years now. She loves to sew, craft, bake, cook and even did ceramics for years. She ran a catering business for more than 20 years, and did wedding receptions and cakes. She enjoyed those events the most as the people were always so happy.
Joy raised a fighter, but she is one as well. She goes to dialysis three times a week, for four hours each time. She has had trouble with blood clotting. She says that it is very tiring almost to exhaustion, but with rest she makes it through. She travels to visit Cherish and Frank. Her health condition does not stop her from doing anything. It is very hard but Joy is quite the trooper.
The biggest change in her life is being alone and her health.
Joy says, “What will happen, will happen. You have to learn to deal with it and trust God to get you through it,” and she does exactly that.
You will not meet a tougher lady. She happily shares that what makes her the happiest in life is seeing her child happy and healthy. She loves to be with people and loves her friends.
Joy says she wants to be remembered as “Just me,” and that is exactly who she is.