Joslyn Marie Adams Wright is a daughter shaped by duty, a mother fueled by compassion, and a wife anchored in partnership and is the epitome of what it means to give your life to others without ever losing yourself.
Born on November 21, 1950, at E.A. Conway Hospital in Monroe, Louisiana, Joslyn was the daughter of Robert “Lil Coochie” Adams and Alice DeGraffenreid Adams. From her earliest years, Joslyn was surrounded by the warmth of her father’s joy and the structure of her mother’s discipline. Her father played, laughed, and gave his daughters the freedom to be children. Her mother, on the other hand, held the line—organizing the home, setting expectations, and making sure every child knew the value of hard work.
Though their parenting styles were different, Joslyn absorbed the best of both: her father’s joy became the laughter she gave her own children; her mother’s toughness became the backbone of her motherhood.
When her father died in 1961, the world shifted. Joslyn was just 10 years old, and in the wake of his passing, her mother, Alice, became the sole anchor of the family. Alice’s strength through grief, her ability to provide, and her unwavering insistence on education left a permanent imprint on her.
It was through her mother’s resilience that Joslyn learned what it meant to stand in the gap—a lesson she would return to again and again when she became a mother herself. She saw her mother help people in Columbia by preparing food, helping children, and providing transportation for them without pay. Now, an adult, she finds herself duplicating her mother’s passion.
As a mother, Joslyn raised three sons—Roosevelt, Robert, and Kita—but in truth, she raised a village. Her home became a refuge, a classroom, and a sanctuary for scores of families and children when they fell on hard times.
She created moments that became traditions: Easter baskets even into her sons’ forties, holiday trees in every room, and long daily phone calls just to check in and listen. To this day, there is no part of her sons’ lives untouched by her influence. Her mothering didn’t stop at childhood; it grew with them, matured with them, and walks with them and her two grandsons, Cadence and Ethan.
But Joslyn was not only a mother—she was also a wife. During Mother’s Day Weekend in 1974, she married Roosevelt Wright, Jr., beginning a 51-year journey of shared love, faith, and purpose. Together, they built a life marked by unity and community service. Joslyn became more than a helpmate, a partner in ministry, a co-laborer in community work, and the silent strength behind her husband’s public presence.
Through every high and low, Joslyn remained steady. When four foster nephews needed a place to stay, she mothered them. When her husband’s aging relatives needed care, she became their nurse. When her own mother, and later her siblings, could no longer care for themselves, she stepped in—not because she had to, but because that’s who she is. A caregiver. A mother. A wife. A warrior in an apron and designing self creative jewelry.
Joslyn’s life is not marked by riches or fame, but by something far more rare—faithfulness. She has been faithful to her sons, faithful to her marriage, and faithful to the lessons passed down from her mother.
Joslyn is honored by husband, sons and grandsons, not just for what she’s done—but for who she is.
