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Joyce Hardesty Suit Cooksey of Dentsville, Maryland joined our heavenly Father on November 22, 2023 at 2:11 p.m. in her home of 58 years. Born September 7th in 1932, she was the daughter of the late John F Hardesty Sr. and the late Esther Mayer Hardesty. One of four children, she was preceded in death by her brothers: John F. Hardesty Jr., William F. Hardesty, and Paul U. Hardesty. A Charles County native and a farmer’s daughter—she graduated from La Plata High School class of 1949. In 1954, she married Harold Owen Suit who was serving in the Army. They moved to Columbus, Georgia for a temporary period. Upon their return to Dentsville, they began their family, having four children before moving into the house they built together in 1965 and welcoming their fifth. She worked for the Department of Agriculture for 25 years. She was a 4H member and leader; she participated in county fairs for many years. After retirement, she took art classes at the Clark Senior Center and won various awards for her artistic creations. She enjoyed reading and worked as a volunteer at the La Plata library. She loved painting, gardening (vegetables and fresh flowers), birdwatching as well as cloud-watching, crabs, cutting grass, getting a personal card in the mail, family gatherings, ice cream, and crisp celery. For the majority of her life she was a member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church. She was an avid blood donor. After losing her first husband, Harold Suit, she raised their five children. In 1982, she married Calvin Spencer Cooksey. They shared 35 years together until his death in 2017. She is survived by her son, Harold Stephen Suit whose wife Pat is deceased, her daughters Rebecca Suit Irwin and her husband Wayne, Julie Suit Hammonds and her husband Lee, Suzanne Marie Wolfe, and Christi Elaine Suit, her stepdaughters Claire Alton, Terri Grieninger, Pamela Mozingo and her husband Alan. She was the grandmother of 13 grandchildren: Dawn, Leslie, Richard, Steven, Andrew, Brandi, Katie, Christopher, Brett, Jordan, Katie, Sam, and Ashley and 8 great-grandchildren: Presley, Annalee, Elliott, Bennett, Jack, Lucy, Evelyn, and Ashlynn as well as her great-granddog Nellie. As written by Joyce herself, she loved the lord, Jesus Christ, who has given to her so abundantly and she loved her family passionately. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to St. Mary, Newport, Catholic Church for their building restoration or food pantry or Spring Dell Center of La Plata, Maryland.

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Joyce Suit Cooksey

September 7, 1932 - November 22, 2023