Joyce Joy, 86, longtime resident of Richmond and 33-year employee of the Maine Veterans Hospital at Togus, passed away Nov. 11 at Springbrook Center, Westbrook.
Joyce was born in Gardiner on Aug. 2, 1929, the daughter of Harold and Thelma Bailey. At a very young age, Joyce faced the loss of both of her parents with grace and courage. Even though they were living in separate places, Joyce worked hard to keep her siblings connected and the memory and hopes of her parents alive. She became an inspiration to her younger siblings as she put herself through nursing school in New Hampshire and encouraged them to strive for success in their lives.
Joyce worked as a nurse for nearly a half century. She started her nursing career at New Hampshire State Hospital, continued on at Gardiner General, and then spent 33 years at the Togus VA Medical Center until her retirement in 1988.
Joyce would appreciate the irony of passing away on Nov. 11, 2015, Veterans Day, having spent more than three decades caring for her beloved veterans at the Togus VA Medical Center. Decades later, Joyce could still recall the names of the veterans she cared for; their spouses’ names; what they liked for snack, lunch, and television shows; and the conversations she had with them. She rarely could go out to dinner with her family without one of her former patients stopping by the table to say hello and to wish her well.
Joyce was born to help people. Whether in the town of Richmond or later when she moved to Scarborough, she is remembered by people for giving free medical advice and assistance. At her apartment complex in Scarborough, where she moved in the 1990s, she always had a kind word and warm welcome for her fellow residents.
Joyce loved flowers, birds and Red Sox games. At Springbrook Center in Westbrook, where she lived the final years of her life, she enjoyed watching the birds in the feeder outside her window. She enjoyed visits from her family, her friends, and her grandchildren.
Joyce was a longtime member of the Dresden-Richmond United Methodist Church; Richmond Senior Citizens Group; the Enterprise Grange; Richmond Area Health Center Board of Directors; Nurses Association of Maine; Maine Recovery Association; and the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Joyce was predeceased by her husband, Warren Joy of Richmond; and brother, Harold “Jack” Bailey and wife Karen of California.
Joyce is survived by her son, David, wife Jackie, and their two children, Nicole of New Jersey, and Erica of Windham; son, Paul, wife Louisa, and his step-daughter Ryanne of North Carolina; daughter, Pamela Joy, husband Dan Warren, and their three children, Maddie, Sophie and Sam of Scarborough; great-grandchildren, Arianna and Terry Brian Worcester; and brothers, Bryan Bailey of Maryland and George Bailey of Georgia.
Family and friends are invited to visit 11 a.m., Sat., Nov. 21 at Kincer Funeral Home, 130 Pleasant St., Richmond. A service will be held at noon.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Joyce Joy’s memory to the Dresden-Richmond United Methodist Church, 121 Pleasant St., Richmond, ME 04357 or Camp Susan Curtis, 1321 Washington Ave. # 104, Portland, ME 04103.
