Pamela Boyce

1955 - 2022

Pamela Boyce

Northampton, MA — Pamela (Graves) Boyce, of Easthampton, passed away peacefully at the Fisher Home of Amherst on July 1, 2022. She was a young-at-heart 67 years old. Pamela was born and raised in Northampton, MA, to the late Philip and Theresa (Archambault) Graves. Pamela was the middle child, as the third-born of six siblings. In her youth, she found immense joy caring for horses, and spent a lot of time riding them. Her dear horse, Pard, meant the world to her and she would speak of him often throughout her life. She was a gymnast, cheerleader, and ran track at Northampton High School and this would be the start of Pamela's love of being on the move. She graduated from Northampton High School in 1973 and Holyoke Community College in 1993. She worked for many years as an administrative assistant, leaving briefly to run a home daycare business while her three children were young and not yet in school. When they reached school age, she returned to her administrative roles. She was married to Roger Boyce until his untimely passing in 2018.

Pamela was said to be musically gifted as a child and excelled at playing the accordion. On special occasions, she'd take it out to play "The Peppy Dance Polka" to widely receptive audiences. In her younger years, Pamela spent her days traveling around in her small Toyota truck accompanied by her cat, Max. She and Max would travel to surrounding campsites solo and make friends along the way. She loved the freedom and the solace of the open road. She married her love, Roger Boyce, in February of 1981 and went on to welcome three children alongside him. As well as a working mother, Pamela was a skilled stained-glass artist, and loved building doll houses in her spare time. She always had to stay busy and seemed to have a knack for whatever hobby was in her interest at the moment. In her house, she was the one who was painting the halls, putting up wallpaper, and fixing the doorknobs. In 1999, at the age of 44, Pam suffered two brain aneurysms. She was given a 10% chance of survival and a 3% chance of gaining her higher cognitive skills back. She beat every odd, which became a theme of her life there on out. This injury in a lot of ways re-sparked her independence, and after escaping death once, she was going to live her life unapologetically the way she pleased. Pamela also found great joy in her pets. She loved all white cats and had two of them, as well as dachshunds. Her dearly beloved dogs, Gus and Calvin, were very dear to her. In her retired years, she enjoyed working for "Trader Barb", a southwestern jewelry retailer who would set up shop at the Eastern States Exposition each year. As a chatty people-person, she loved being where all the excitement was.

Pamela is survived by her sons, Nathan Boyce (40) and Matthew Boyce (38); a daughter, Lauren Boyce (36) and a grandson, Elliot Marren (5), all of western Massachusetts. She also leaves behind 3 brothers, Gary, Michael, and Kevin Graves, and a sister, Kathy Rice. She was predeceased by her younger sister, Christine Graves in 2018. Pamela will be sorely missed by her family and friends.

Friends and family can pay their respects at the celebration of life service on Saturday, July 9th from 12-2pm at Mitchell Funeral Home, 15 Park Street, Easthampton, Massachusetts, 01027. A get together to honor Pamela will be held after at The Delaney House, at 3 Country Club Road in Holyoke, MA.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Pamela's name can be made to the Therapeutic Equestrian Center (TEC) in Holyoke, MA. TEC serves to enhance the capabilities of disabled youth and adults through horse riding and care. https://tecriders.org/donate/