On October 19th, 2020, Betty Joyce Thomas, one of the four founders of Rocky Bayou Christian School, passed away. Many students expressed respect and appreciation for her influence on their lives. One former student penned, “To some who crossed her path, Joyce Thomas was just an English teacher who left critical marks penned in red ink upon quizzes and essays that were not quite up to par. Yet to students who heeded her instruction and responded to her red ink by correcting their ways, they were destined to possess a greater appreciation for who she was and were much more likely to notice the valuable fingerprint she left on their lives.” – Bobby Grete
One valuable fingerprint she left behind was her respect for the written word. She often led her students on literary adventures through the writings of Mark Twain, Shakespeare, C.S. Lewis, J.R. Tolkien and L.M. Montgomery. Most knew her for her love of Shakespeare, but there were a select few who had the privilege of listening to her read the Chronicles of Narnia, a favorite series of novels. A group of former students and friends rallied together to donate a classroom set in her honor to the Saxon Library at Rocky Bayou Christian School to begin the AY 2021-22 school year. May her love of good literature live on as students read these wonderful books.
The history of Rocky Bayou Christian school began in 1973 when God revealed to Harold and Joyce Thomas and Bob and Katherine Grete that they were to establish a Christian school in Northwest Florida that would teach that parents are responsible for the education of their children, and that God commands Christian parents to provide their children with an education based upon biblical principles. (rbcs.org)
