Joyce A. MacBrien

1933 - 2025

Joyce A. MacBrien
Apr. 2, 1933 - Apr. 30, 2025
Southbury- Joyce Anne (Carney) MacBrien, beloved wife, mother, and grandmother, passed away peacefully on April 30, 2025. Born April 2, 1933, in New Haven, Connecticut, Joyce lived a life marked by devotion-to her faith, her family, and her community.
Growing up in Fair Haven, Joyce held a special bond with her three sisters and treasured their closeness. Shortly after graduating high school, she entered the Convent of Mary Immaculate, Sisters of St. Joseph, where she spent a formative year before embarking on a career with the Connecticut Highway Department. After retiring, she dedicated herself to her home and family-a role she embraced with unwavering love and joy.
Joyce enjoyed being both homemaker and homesteader. She and her family raised livestock in Southbury, including cows, pigs, goats, rabbits, and geese, and they kept a large and bountiful garden. She enjoyed hosting holiday meals, baking seemingly endless trays of cookies and pies, and her stuffing remains unmatched.
She was also enthusiastic about art. She loved music, especially jazz and classical, attended live performances, and was an avid movie buff. She supported local artists, gathering a small, distinctive collection of paintings. Every year she rooted for her beloved Red Sox and UConn Husky women's basketball team.
A longtime member of Sacred Heart Church, Joyce was deeply committed to service. For more than thirty years, she volunteered during the liturgy at River Glen Health Care Center and made food for the St. Vincent de Paul Mission in Waterbury. Her love of animals and nature embodied her devotion to the ministry of St. Francis of Assisi. Her family extends gratitude to all who cared for her, including her loving caregivers and the remarkable professionals at RVNA health Hospice.
Joyce was preceded in death by an infant daughter, Marian Therese, her parents Edward and Julia (Halloran) Carney, and sisters Elizabeth Carney, Elinor Ryan (Ed), and Barbara Norton (Tom). She is survived by her husband of 66 years, Alvin; son, Nathan MacBrien; daughter, Carrie (MacBrien) Munayyer (Waffa); grandsons Adrien Mac Munayyer and Nour Brien Munayyer; and many beloved nieces and nephews.
Family and friends may visit on Tuesday, May 6, 2025, from 4:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at Munson-Lovetere Funeral Home, 235 Main St. North, Southbury, CT 06488. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 910 Main St. South, Southbury, CT. Burial will follow in Pine Grove Cemetery in Ansonia, Connecticut. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, https://www.svdpmission.org/.To leave an online condolence, please visit munsonloveterefuneralhome.com.