Citrus College community comes together to dedicate the Joyce McClendon Dill Memorial Tree

The story was updated at 7:15 p.m. Feb 6 with further details on Dill’s life and her connection to Citrus College.

Editor’s note: The final paragraph was corrected at 11:45 p.m. Feb 4 to accurately attribute the grandmother of DJ Label.

Joyce McClendon Dill left an incalculable impact on Citrus College and those who knew her.

Now, there is a symbol of that lasting love and beautiful life.

The Citrus College Foundation dedicated the Joyce McClendon Memorial Tree on February 4th. The event was hosted at the Legacy and Promise Courtyard outside of the Haugh Performing Arts Center.

This dedication was open to the community and allowed those closest to Dill to express the impact that she had on them and Citrus College.

“I was particularly honored to be her friend,” life-long friend Sharon Lewis said at the event. “(I’m) honored to be able to be involved in doing this beautiful tribute to her here.”

The ceremony allowed friends and family of Dill to share their most cherished memories of her, moments like when Dill’s granddaughter Tawny Davis said Dill and her would pick up coins on the Newport Boardwalk to learn the idea of hard work and determination.

Or when Lewis told the story of how Dill befriended her on her first day of class at Citrus Union High School.

Dill and Citrus are connected by over 60 years of dedication and service. Dill attended Citrus Union High School from 1946 to 1950. She wrote for the student newspaper and took part in sports, drama and cheerleading. She then continued her education at Citrus Junior College the next two years.

After finishing her college education and starting her family, Dill began her employment with Citrus College in September 1965. Dill served as an evening clerk and then a bookstore trade book buyer until 1980. Dill was then promoted to associate bookstore manager, a position that she kept until her retirement from Citrus College in 2006. 

After her retirement, Dill remained a fixture at Citrus College. She served on the Citrus College Foundation Board of Directions, the Foundation’s Executive Board, Scholarship Committee and the Citrus Alumni and Friends Association.

Lewis said The Joyce McClendon Memorial Tree will serve as a place for the students of Citrus College to relax or “read a book” in memory of Joyce Dill.

DJ Label, who met Dill through his grandmother Shirley Turner, said, reciting an ancient Indian proverb, “Blessed are those who plant trees under whose shade they will never sit.”