Joyce Epperson has led her life with open arms and open ears.
As a mother, crisis response team member and medical first responder, the Fulton woman has cared for a countless number of people by listening to their woes and offering them hugs. She's done this in various situations - at home with neighborhood children, car accidents and death scenes. Her hugs know no race, color, gender or economic status.
"I give a lot of hugs, a lot of hugs, men and women. And I guess it's the physical contact - knowing someone cares," Epperson said.
Epperson moved into a house on Douglas Boulevard in Fulton with her husband, Bob, a former printer at the Ovid Bell Press, in 1957. Bob Epperson said he and his wife wanted their children to be raised in a small town. Opting to be a homemaker, Joyce Epperson stayed home raising their three children (one passed away as a teenager).
But the majority of Epperson's days weren't spent alone with her own children; she used her time as a stay-at-home mom to jumpstart her passion for volunteerism.
Her efforts will be recognized Tuesday at William Woods University when she receives the 2015 Kingdom of Callaway Supper Settler's Award. Epperson said she didn't believe it was true for several days after being informed of the honor.
"I was stunned and for once you could say I was speechless," Epperson said. "You know you do all these things and you know people appreciate it, but you don't think about it going to the extent of being awarded for what you did."
When her children were young, she started volunteering at Bush Elementary School as a home room mother and library aide. Epperson said this was a way she could get to know her children's teachers and friends. After school, she opened up her home to the neighborhood children. All of the other mothers on their street worked, something Epperson said she was fortunate she didn't have to do.
The children enjoyed being in the kitchen, so Epperson taught them how to cook - even the boys, she said. Making pancakes was a "disaster" one year, she said. She remembered one boy in particular who was determined to flip a pancake. Many attempts left the kitchen a mess, which Epperson taught the children they must clean up themselves.
"We had pancake stuff all over, but he was so proud when he mastered the flip," Epperson said.
During culinary lessons and outdoor adventures (she once let the children "dig a hole to China"), Epperson heard about the troubles of adolescence.
"I heard broken hearts. I heard about friendships that broke up, and all they needed was somebody to hug them and hold them," she said.
Epperson did the same for the elderly, volunteering at Fulton Presbyterian Manor, a senior living facility.
"I'm a hugger," she said. "And I think that's one of the things that people miss the most ... I could go in and as a volunteer and hug them. And that meant more to them than anything."
For about a decade, Epperson committed herself to aiding in dangerous situations. She assisted North, South and Central Fire Districts in the county as a medical first responder. Epperson also was a member of a crisis response team, comforting the general public gathered near a police scene and those emotionally damaged by a death. In both duties, Epperson said, her petite size has come at an advantage. She stands at 5-feet-2-inches.
At the scene of an I-70 accident, Epperson crawled inside a car to care for a passenger and waited with the person until the jaws of life - a tool used to help rescue people from damaged vehicles - arrived. At a police scene, Epperson remembered a group of people gathered outside of a home - upset about the situation and wailing with emotion. Using prayer and song, she managed to calm the people.
"Old and small makes a difference in tense situations," Epperson said with a laugh.
Her help wasn't finished at the scene, however. Epperson's knowledge of agencies and organizations led those in need on to better lives, Bob Epperson said. While working with the Fulton Housing Authority, Epperson secured state funding for vocational training for the single women living in the residences. Consoling some, she helped them find the strength to kick negative men out of their lives.
In addition to her volunteer work, Epperson also served on the Kingdom Days Committee. She aided in establishing the All Night Senior Party for Fulton High School in 1984, and then assisted North Callaway and South Callaway high schools in starting their senior parties. A member of the First Presbyterian Church of Fulton, Epperson served as an elder and Sunday School aide. Missouri School for the Deaf students visited the Epperson residence for years, coming over for meals and sometimes going on vacations with the family. Epperson was once a volunteer at the school.
Epperson said people she's helped will stop her in public and give their gratitude. One woman approached Epperson inside the local McDonald's and expressed her appreciation for Epperson getting her through a rough few years. She will also receive calls of thanks.
"That's heartwarming when they remember you," she said. "You don't do it to be remembered."
For Epperson, these encounters are an opportunity to catch up and share another hug.