Joi Salisbury

Joi Dell (Diel) Salisbury, age 79, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, joined our Heavenly Father at 2:45 A.M. on May 23, 2017 freeing her mind and body, for the ultimate reward. Joidy had been a longtime resident of Saint Simeon’s Episcopal Memory Unit in Tulsa and died of complications associated with the final stages of Alzheimer’s. 
Joi Dell Salisbury, or Joidy as she was known to all, was a loving daughter, wife, mother and grandmother. Joidy was born in Anadarko, Oklahoma on December 12, 1937. Her parents were Marion A. Diel and Virginia C. (Lorenz) Diel. Joidy married Arthur Wayne Salisbury on July 6, 1958 in Clinton, Oklahoma at the First Christian Church. Joidy graduated from Thomas High School in Thomas, Oklahoma in 1955. She attended Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford, Oklahoma and transferred to Oklahoma State University to complete her bachelor’s degree in education. In the 1980s, Joidy returned to SWOSU to complete her master’s degree in elementary administration. Joidy’s teaching career began in Irving, Texas in the 1960s. She also taught in Level-land, Texas before moving to Clinton, Oklahoma where she began teaching in 1962, and in the 1980s she became the first female principal at Southwest Elementary School. 
Joidy Salisbury was a master educator and played a significant role in the lives of her students and colleagues. She was a creative teacher, using innovative methods to engage students and promote a love of learning. Joidy frequently devoted her free time to directing student plays, involving students in speech contests, organizing student activities, chaperoning trips to various countries and often providing basic needs such as shoes, clothes, lunches, or support services to children and families. Joidy was honored twice as Clinton’s Teacher of the Year. During her time as principal at Southwest Elementary School, Joidy presented a proposal to implement a new computer lab for the site, which led to a very successful program called Writing to Read. She was also asked to serve as a liaison for district negotiations between administration and teachers, resulting in a peaceful resolution for both parties. 
Fellowship, community service and entertaining were a large part of her life. Joidy and Wayne were faithful members of Clinton’s United Methodist Church. They often chaperoned the Fifth Quarter get-togethers hosted by parents for United Methodist Youth Services (UMYS) that were held after Clinton football games. Joidy also served on numerous church committees and volunteered wherever she was needed. Joidy’s involvement in community services included: Clinton Library Board; Building Committee to the Clinton Library Board; Clinton Round Up Club; P.E.O.; and various other committees. 
When it came to entertaining, Joidy was exceptional at creating memories. She loved getting her family and friends together. The Salisbury home was the setting for numerous bridge nights, wedding receptions, baby showers, birthday parties, political gatherings, graduation parties, game nights and an overall gathering place.
​It was at Southwestern (SWOSU) that Joidy met the love of her life, Arthur Wayne Salisbury. He marveled at her, a beautiful seventeen-year old co-ed during his sophomore year at Southwestern. For her senior year, Joidy transferred to Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, which separated her from Wayne. Wistful, the couple missed each other. Joidy stayed in touch with Wayne and invited him to a formal sorority party. During the spring semester Joidy accepted Wayne’s wedding proposal and proudly wore her engagement ring at OSU. In 1960, the Salisburys moved to Levelland, Texas where Wayne was in charge of a clinical pharmacy and Joidy taught in the local school system. They decided to “take a huge leap” and moved to Clinton where they planned to open Salisbury Prescription Pharmacy in 1962. Joidy and Wayne thrived in Clinton and were proud to raise their children in such a “service oriented” community. Joidy retired from Clinton Public Schools in 1992 to spend time with her grandchildren and in 1997 Wayne retired and sold the pharmacy. In 1998, Wayne and Joidy moved to Edmond, Oklahoma and soon to Tulsa, Oklahoma to be closer to their children and grandchildren.
Joidy Salisbury touched the lives of so many individuals, but the examples she set for her children, grandchildren and students have proven to be the most valuable. She showed her family how to love unconditionally, how to show patience, what it means to stand strong in God’s faith, the importance of always working on building a strong relationship with your spouse, that keeping involved in your children’s lives and teaching life lessons is key, and that giving a hand up to others can make all the difference in an individual’s life. With little time left, Joidy spent true quality time with her grandchildren. She read books, played in the park, played games, listened, taught and celebrated with them. It was almost as if she knew that “quality time” with her grandchildren was her number one goal. When the beginning of the end was near (when Alzheimer’s robbed her of her speech and her ability to communicate or even identify her family), she still gravitated to the children. 
Joidy’s loving husband, Wayne, began seeing subtle signs of dementia in 2005. All too soon, Joidy was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and, as described by Wayne, “the long goodbye” began. In 2008, the family consulted together and decided to place her in the “memory section” of Saint Simeon’s Episcopal Home.   
Joidy is preceded in death by her parents, Marion and Virginia Diel. She is survived by her husband, Arthur Wayne Salisbury, of Tulsa, OK. Joidy’s family includes her son, Harold (Hal) Wayne Salisbury of Tulsa, OK, married to Tracy Ann (Lorton) Salisbury and their children Morgan, Halle and Laurel; her daughter, Kristin Joi Arnold of Cleveland, OK, married to James M. Arnold and their children Andrew Wayne Dougherty married to Jennifer Dougherty of Las Vegas, NV, Addison (Addie) Dell Dougherty of Stillwater and Jared Arnold of Tulsa. She is also survived by her sister, Sue Ayn Moore, of Clinton, OK and her children David Moore and his wife Holley of Edmond; her daughter, Kasey Parr and her husband Douglas Parr and their children, Cooper, J.P. and Tucker of Ninnekah, OK.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to either of two endowed scholarships: The Arthur W and Joi D Salisbury Scholarship at Southwestern Oklahoma State University at 100 Campus Drive, Weatherford, Oklahoma, 73096-3098; The Arthur W and Joi D Salisbury Scholarship at Oklahoma City University at 2501 North Blackwelder, Oklahoma City, OK, 73106 or the Joi D Salisbury UMC Boys Ranch Foundation at PO Box 999, Gore, OK, 74435-0999. 
A viewing will be held at Kiesau-Lee Funeral Home 4:00 P.M., to 7:00 P.M., Thursday, May 25, 2017, in Clinton, OK. The funeral service will be held at First United Methodist Church,  1:00 P.M., Friday, May 26, 2017, in Clinton, OK, officiated by Rev. Rick Robart, followed by burial at the Lorenz Cemetery in Blaine County, seven and one-half miles to the east of Hitchcock, on East 0720 Road, Wells Township, on a rural road between Hitchcock, Oklahoma and Loyal, OK. Services are under the direction of the Kiesau-Lee Funeral Home, 2500 West Modelle, Clinton, Oklahoma, Phone number 580-323-1212 and condolences and comments can be made online at lee-funeralhomes.com.

Paid Obituary