Dates
After a life rich with love, celebration, and service to others, Elta Joyce Murphey McAfee passed away peacefully at home on Thursday, October 29th, 2026.
Elta Joyce was born on June 22, 1934, at Clinic Hospital in San Angelo, Texas – delivered by Dr. D. D. Wall and cared for in her early years by Dr. Finks. From the very beginning, she belonged to this town. San Angelo was not simply where she lived; it was who she was.
She was born to Elta Teola Windham Murphey and Thomas Jarrett Murphey, inheriting a legacy of generosity, civic duty, and deep Texas roots. She grew up alongside her beloved sisters, Tommye Murphey Boothe and Mary Elizabeth Murphey Linthicum, who preceded her in death. Also preceding her in death is Patty Ray Boothe Kirby, Aunt Ethel Windham and Elta Jacqueline Windham Clark. The stage for Elta Joyce’s life was set early – a life that would be marked not by small gestures, but by grand vision, gracious hospitality, and unwavering devotion to the greater good.
She grew up in the First Baptist Church, attending Sunday School, Training Union, and Wednesday prayer meeting – before later becoming a member of the First Presbyterian Church of San Angelo.
She attended Santa Rita Elementary School and San Angelo Junior High School, and graduated from San Angelo High School in 1952, maintaining lifelong friendships and treasuring class reunions that kept those early bonds between the class of ’52 strong. She began her college years at Lindenwood College for Women in St. Charles, Missouri, followed by Hardin-Simmons University, and the University of Texas. During her sophomore year at the University of Texas, she met Robert Arlen Nickel. They married and shared 25 years together, welcoming two children, Jarrott Lynn and Elisa Michelle. Elta Joyce graduated from Hardin-Simmons University in 1957.
After their first daughter, Jarrott, was born, Robert was drafted into the United States Army and sent to Korea for sixteen months. Elta Joyce carried on with strength and grace. The young family continued building their life together in Texas and welcomed their second daughter, Elisa Michelle.
Elta Joyce began her professional life teaching fourth and fifth grades after graduating from Hardin-Simmons. Education, empowerment, and encouragement would remain hallmarks of her character. She later married Millard Francis McAfee in 1980, and they shared happy years together until his passing in 2016.
Her first daughter, Jarrott, passed away in 2012. Jarrott’s husband, Mike Smith, remained a steadfast presence in Elta Joyce’s life for many years afterward.
Her family was her heart. She delighted in her grandchildren: Mattie Lewis and her husband, Sekou, of Dallas; Caroline and Joey Novosad of Houston; Preston Smith and his wife, Kate, of Hawaii; and Philip Smith and his wife Amanda of Christoval. Her joy grew even greater with her beloved great-grandchildren: Cooper, Milo, and Letta Smith; Lilah and Murphy Smith; London Lewis and Eloise Novosad, with Eloise having a baby sister on the way.
The Murphey Family spent countless treasured days at their ranches in Barnhart and Mertzon. Fall meant hunting season; summers meant swimming, dominoes, Chinese checkers, Mancala, and croquet. Elta Joyce did nothing halfway – not games, not entertaining, not loving, and certainly not giving.
That same spirited enthusiasm carried into her beloved bridge group, whose members gathered faithfully for decades. Though they played with sharp minds and competitive resolve, it was the laughter, friendship, and shared stories around the table that Joyce treasured most. The cards may have kept score, but it was the camaraderie that truly won her heart.
She traveled the world, beginning with a memorable trip to Europe with her mom. Mexico, Panama Canal, Hawaii, the Mediterranean, and Scandinavia followed broadening her perspective and deepening her appreciation for culture and art. These experiences shaped her into one of San Angelo’s most devoted patrons of the arts.
Her impact on this community is extraordinary.
Elta Joyce gave thoughtfully and strategically – to major projects and small needs alike. A supporter of Angelo State University, San Angelo Support for Veterans, Inc., the development of a downtown pocket park honoring Tom Green County’s pioneer heritage, and most recently, the Concho River Legacy Trail.
She was a founding member of the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts and endowed its nationally recognized En Plein Air Texas Juried Art Competition. She was a committed sponsor of the San Angelo Symphony, serving in multiple leadership roles over decades and earning membership in its Circle of Honor and TASO, Texas Association of Symphony Orchestras. Her love of the performing arts extended to dance and theater. She helped organize San Angelo’s first production of The Nutcracker through the San Angelo Civic Ballet. She served as President of the Civic Theatre Board. Never content to simply watch from the audience, Joyce also enjoyed taking the stage herself, appearing in theatrical productions over the years, including the role of Amanda in Private Lives in 1975. Her enthusiasm, generosity, and leadership left a lasting imprint on the arts and cultural community she loved.
Her civic résumé is also long and distinguished: member and sustaining member of the Junior League; President of the Symphony Guild twice; President of the San Angelo Symphony Board; Chairman of the Cancer Society Drive; President of the Senior Dance Club; member of the Angelo State President’s Circle; and countless other leadership and fundraising roles. In 2015, she was named one of the Five Women of Distinction by the Girl Scouts of Texas. In 2017, the San Angelo Chamber of Commerce honored her as Citizen of the Year and in 2018 she was inducted into the Hall of Leaders at Hardin-Simmons University. In October 2026, she was recognized as an Honorary Alumna of Angelo State University during Angelo State’s Homecoming.
Two enduring landmarks bear her name and vision: the Elta Joyce Murphey Auditorium at Angelo State University and the historic landmark, The Murphey Performance Hall and Stage at the San Angelo City Auditorium. These are not simply buildings, they are monuments to her belief that art, education, and culture elevate a community.
Though she was generous beyond measure, she was modest about her giving. She was far quicker to say to others, “Thank you for all that you do. That’s wonderful!” She encouraged. She uplifted. She believed in people.
Improving quality of life and advancing the social and cultural fabric of San Angelo was not an obligation to Elta Joyce – it was her joy, her identity, her inheritance, and she lovingly passed that virtue on to her children and grandchildren.
Yet for all her accomplishments, Elta Joyce remained wonderfully and beautifully human.
She was radiant, elegant in every sense. She could glide across a dance floor with ease. She loved a well-set table, especially at the Barnhart Ranch, where laughter among friends created unforgettable evenings. Holidays were theatrical productions in themselves – especially St. Patrick’s Day, celebrated the Irish way (after all, she was a Murphey). Elta Joyce loved Easter for her faith and the Fourth of July for her patriotism.
Her life was not small. It was expansive, celebratory, generous, glamorous and grounded all at once. And at its core, it was anchored in love – love of God, love of family, love of country, and love of San Angelo.
A service celebrating the remarkable life of Elta Joyce will be held at the First Presbyterian Church in San Angelo, on Wednesday, November 4th, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. The service will be officiated by Senior Pastor, Reverend Joel Moore and Reverend Bill Proctor. Graveside will immediately follow at Fairmont Cemetery. A reception will be held afterwards at San Angelo Country Club.
Serving as pallbearers will be Mike Boyd, Jim Carter, Larry Hettick, Fred Key, Dale McDonald, and Lee Pfluger.
Memorials may be made to the San Angelo Symphony, Ballet San Angelo, First Presbyterian Church, Angelo State University, or the organization of your choice.
San Angelo shines a little differently because Elta Joyce danced across our community for 92 years.
And though we will miss her elegance, her laughter, and the sparkle she brought into every room, her legacy surrounds us.
It stands in brick and mortar.
It echoes in symphonies.
It dances across stages.
It lives in classrooms.
It blooms in gardens.
It gathers around family tables.
And it lives on in every life she touched.