Obituary of Dr. Joyce Haignere Brannan, Ph.D.

COLUMBIA- A Celebration of Life service for Dr. Joyce Haignere Brannan, Ph.D., 83, will be held at a later date at Sandhills Community Church, officiated by Pastor Jeff Philpott. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Doctors Without Borders, www.donate.doctorswithoutborders.org.

    Dr. Brannan passed away Monday, October 11, 2021. Born in Hartford, CT on July 20, 1938, she was the daughter of the late Eugene Burnham Haignere and Frances Mary Field Haignere and the former wife of the late John Robert Brannan. Dr. Brannan graduated with a Ph.D. from The Ohio State University, where she later worked as a Teaching Associate. She received many educational honors, including membership in Phi Beta Kappa and the Mortar Board. Joyce also worked for a year at the Mid-Pacific Institute in Honolulu, HI, teaching Health and Physical Education. From 1983 to 1989, she was the Director of Research and Development for the National Center for Health Promotion in Ann Arbor, MI (despite being a devoted Buckeye). She also served as the Director of Wellness and Health Education for Hamot Medical Center in Erie, PA. Her career eventually led her back to Ohio, where she retired from the Ohio Department of Education as a Curriculum Advisor. While living in Ohio, she was a longtime member of First Community Church. She was also a member of the Ohio State University Alumni Association. After moving to South Carolina, Joyce attended Sandhills Community Church. Dr. Brannan had a lifelong passion for education and health. She enjoyed reading, knitting, gardening, and swimming, especially in the ocean. Her greatest joy in life was spending time with her grandsons playing board games, throwing the football, going to the fair, and swimming in the pool.

    Surviving are her children, Judi Walkup (Chris), Perry Brannan, and Patrick Brannan; siblings, Eugene Burnham Haignere, Jr. (Denise), Lois Haignere (Herb Brown) and Clara Haignere (Bill Potter); and grandchildren, Isaac, Aaron, and Joseph Walkup and Ryan Hehl.