Joan G. Gould

1927 - 2021

Joan Guilfoy Gould, 93, of Brewster, MA, passed away early Sunday, January 10th, following a brief illness. Joan, the eldest of four children, was born May 27, 1927 in New York City to William Henry Guilfoy Jr. and Katherine Agnes Plunkett Guilfoy. Her father was a Vice-President of Manhattan Savings Bank, while her mother taught fifth grade in the New York public schools. Joan grew up in Riverdale, New York, and spent summers in Harbor View, on the Connecticut shore. She graduated from the Academy of the Sacred Heart of Mary in New York City, and enrolled at Marymount College, where she fell ill with TB during her freshman year and left to cure at the world-famous Trudeau Sanatorium in Saranac Lake, NY. It was there that she met her future husband, Robert Gould, an educator. After a three-year courtship spent enjoying the beautiful mountains, lakes and forests of the Adirondacks, the couple were married in 1949. Children soon followed: Christopher (1952), Mark (1953), Alison (1955), and Robert (1960). Bobs career took them all over the United States, and they raised their family in Saranac Lake, NY, Orono and Bangor ME, Denver, CO, Walpole, North Brookfield, and Sudbury, MA, and finally Saddlebrook, FL. In Sudbury, where the family spent thirteen years, Joan worked part-time selling advertising at the Sudbury Citizen. When it came time to retire, the couple returned to the Northeast, moving to Brewster, MA, where they spent 35 wonderful years with their many friends, indulging their mutual love of the great outdoors and sports with canoeing, swimming, tennis, paddle tennis, hiking and biking. In Brewster, Joan also worked for many years selling advertising at the Cape Codder, where she was a well-liked and highly-respected member of the team. Joan was a devoted mother and wife, and shared 71 years of marriage with the love of her life, Bob, who predeceased her by 11 months, at age 99. As a result of her indomitable will and their fierce independence, the couple were able to live in their own home until very close to the end of their lives. During her last year, Joan spent two months in her own home with her eldest son, Christopher, and passed away after only two months in Bertram House, an assisted living facility in Swampscott, MA, that was chosen so that she could be near her daughter-in-law, Bonnie MacDonald. Joan loved to entertain and to welcome family and friends for dinner, cocktail parties, and weekends at their relaxed, comfortable home. She was a beautiful, elegant woman who will be dearly remembered for her fun-loving nature and boundless energy, and for the great joy and solace she found in spending time at the beach in all seasons. Those who knew her well admired her courage and dignity in the face of great heartache, and understood that she always missed her two dear sons Mark (1953-1978) and Rob (1960-2002). She is survived by a daughter, Alison, of South Yarmouth, MA, a son, Christopher, of Knysna, South Africa, a sister, Sheila Russell, of Centerville, MA, two daughters-in-law, Lize Wagenaar of Knysna, and Bonnie MacDonald of Marblehead, MA, and four grand-daughters: Olivia Gould of Brooklyn, NY, Louisa Gould of Marblehead, MA, and Alodie and Larissa Gould-Wagenaar of Knysna, South Africa. She was predeceased by her two brothers, William and Gregory Guilfoy. Joan will be laid to rest next to her husband in Brewster Cemetery, Brewster, MA. A private memorial service will be held in the summer.