M. Claire Joyce

Claire in her element--surrounded by grandchildren. She loved them all.

Dear Joyce Family,
I'm so sorry for your great loss of the best Mother there ever could be, and I will be praying for her daily. God will welcome her right into heaven because he wants people like Claire in his flock. I will never forget your Mother or your Grandmother. I remember all the great visits Rocky and I had to your house in Springfield; all of the cousins had such a great time together. And how much they enjoyed going out on Uncle Al's sailboat on the lake. Your Mom was always so gracious and was truly a wonderful host. We were always met with a wonderful home cooked meal! She was one of a kind and I will cherish all of my memories until I see her again. Love Aunt Ruthie (and Uncle Rocky who is with her now!)

Claire and I were good friends and neighbors on Perkins St for over 10 years.Our families (Joyces with 10 children and ONeils with seven) ---Claire and I had a plan!!I would watch her John and Dan and she would have my preschool Mike an afternoon a week.OUR FREE TIME.
We moved to the Cape but kept in touch -phone, notes, occassional visit to assissted living.
All the ONeils say hello to the Joyces and remember Claire as a beautiful friend and neighbor.

Grandma embodied joy, laughter and fun like no one else I knew. She never was a typical “baking” Grandma. She never cooked us one thing... but she brought us toys and childlike wonder. She would come visit our house with her bag of beloved toys or the special times we got to go to her house or to Otis and play with as many toys, arcade games, picture riddle books, bubbles and other fun as you can think of! In her special way she taught us to enjoy life and the little things. And that continued even as we got older. It wasn’t just kids having fun that she loved, it was everyone. Right up to her last few months she was still getting a new toy and wanting to share it with anyone who came in her room. She is now wrapped in fullness of joy in Heaven. I learned so much of joy and love from her and am forever grateful to have been blessed with her as a Grandma ❤

I met Claire at Birthright many years ago. She was such a wonderful and funny lady. We had good times working together. One of my favorite memories besides her toy collection was her stories telling me about watching for sales on chocolate bars because she had to have one daily. The world has lost a beautiful soul.