Joyce Burton Sweeney

Joyce Burton Sweeney
Joyce Burton Sweeney, age 96, of Shelton, CT, passed away peacefully in her home on April 6, 2025. She is survived by her loving children: Maura (Bob) Fashjian of Shelton, CT, Robert (Gayle) Sweeney of Elmhurst, IL, Michele Sweeney (Lucy Wohltman) of Cutchogue, NY and Chuck (Laura) Sweeney of Shelton, CT. She is also survived by her grandchildren, Brendan Sweeney, Meaghan Minalt (Joseph), Blinne Sweeney, Colin Sweeney, Emma Jones (Jonathan), Tom Sweeney, and Jack Sweeney. Joyce was also blessed with three great-grandchildren (Francis and Jane Minalt, and Hudson Jones). She is preceded in death by her son, Thomas Burton Sweeney and her ex-husband, Robert Emmet Sweeney Sr. Born in Brooklyn, NY on March 19, 1929, and raised in Queens, NY, Joyce was the daughter of the late William Burton and the late Anna Joyce Burton. She graduated from John Adams High School (Queens), Holy Family College (B.A.), and Southern Connecticut State College (Master's and Post-Masters work). Joyce was a longtime communicant at St. Lawrence Church in Shelton, where she had been a Lector, Religious Education teacher as well as a past VP of the Parish Council. Joyce was a teacher at Shelton Intermediate School for 21 years and was a member of the Greater Bridgeport Retired Teachers Association as well as the Connecticut Association of Retired Teachers. She was a co-founder of the Fairfield Chapter of Compassionate Friends for bereaved parents, where she served as a facilitator for 23 years. Joyce was adventurous. She loved traveling throughout the United States and the world and sought the opportunity to learn and study well into her 80s. She loved to read, take walks, sit with friends by the pool at Aspetuck Village, spend time with her children and grandchildren, and watch football. She was known for her intelligence, great spirit, and Irish sense of humor. She will be dearly missed by her family and close friends. Please join her family to celebrate her life with a Memorial Mass on Saturday, May 31st at 11:00 a.m. at St. Lawrence Church in Shelton, CT. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Spooner House at www.actspooner.org/donations.html in memory of Joyce Sweeney, loving mother, adored grandmother, and extraordinary teacher beloved by all.