Joyce MacDonald Greenfield

1944 - 2026

Joyce MacDonald Greenfield
Joyce Greenfield, born March 4, 1944, in Wareham, Massachusetts, passed away peacefully on March 7, 2026, three days after her 82nd birthday.
Joyce spent parts of her early childhood, and later many summers, on Cape Cod. As a member of an army family, she also spent time moving around living in England, Georgia, and Washington State - which gave her an early education in adaptability and the art of making friends quickly. During summers on the Cape, she split her time between her MacDonald family on her father's side and her Philbrick family on her mother's side. Her time at Monument Beach, in particular, stayed close to her heart.
After high school in Washington and a year at Washington State University, she relocated to New York and became a young and glamorous flight attendant for Pan American World Airways, which gave her the opportunity to travel that she had never had. She married Arthur Koehler and started a family in Stony Brook, New York, before moving to Madison, Connecticut. There, as a single mother, she navigated the chaos of raising three free-spirited children in the 1970s and '80s. The children survived. So did she.
She had known from a young age that she wanted to be an artist. But life and obligations, for a while, had other plans. As her kids became more independent, and with the support of her second husband, James Greenfield, she made the brave decision to finish school and earned her bachelor's degree from Southern Connecticut State University. With Jim's support, she was also able to lean into her early dream of becoming an artist. Beginning with watercolors and eventually finding her voice in oils, she developed a gift for capturing darkness and light and the restless mood of the sea. She taught at Creative Arts Workshop and SCSU, and gave generously of her time at CAW and City Gallery. Every summer she made her pilgrimage to Monhegan Island, Maine, where the remoteness agreed with her and some of her finest work came to life. In between her pursuits, she took time to travel and to attend marches and protests for the causes she believed in. Jim preceded her in death in 2019.
Over the course of a long and varied life, Joyce made and kept many friends: from her Pan Am days to her artist communities, from her years at the Cape to the neighbors in her apartment building, where she lived for the past decade, she maintained friendships across every chapter and appreciated every one of them for their insight, intellect, humor and talent.
One of her greatest joys was the rare opportunities to have her whole family together in the same room. We are grateful that we managed it at Thanksgiving this past November. It was the last time and she was overjoyed.
She is survived by her children, Kristin Alexander (Gil) of Arlington, MA, Kurt Koehler of New Haven, and Heidi Rogers (Andy) of Fairfield, CT; her sister, Patti Carter (Cole) of Spokane, WA; her brother, Geoffrey MacDonald of Massachusetts; her nephew, Kyle Carter of San Francisco, CA; and five grandchildren, Will Koehler, Ethan and Sam Alexander, and Drew and Evelyn Rogers, who adored their Grammie/Mammie, and whom she adored right back.
The family extends its gratitude to CT Hospice and her many friends for their care and kindness in her final months.
A memorial gathering will be planned at the convenience of her family. In lieu of flowers, gifts in Joyce's memory may be made to support the artist community in New Haven, including the Arts Council of Greater New Haven, Creative Arts Workshop, and City Gallery.