Joyce Beverly Mowry

1932 - 2022

MENDON - Joyce B. Mowry, 89, of Mendon, MA., died February 4, 2022, at the Advinia Care Skilled Nursing Facility in Northbridge, MA. She was the wife of the late Leon Kayarian of Warwick, RI and Anthony Rocks of Mendon, MA.

Joyce was born in Woonsocket, RI on April 30, 1932. She was the daughter of the late Raymond T. Mowry and Violette (Guevin) Mowry of Bellingham, MA.

Joyce was a graduate of Bellingham High School with Honors in 1950, Milford Hospital Nursing School with Honors in 1953. Her specialty rotations after graduation were in Psyche, ER, ICU, and CCU at Boston City Hospital and Worcester State Hospital. Joyce pursued her education in nursing at Rhode Island College and was also a graduate of Newberry College earning a Paralegal degree.

Her nursing career spanned over six decades including leadership roles in Nursing, Utilization Review, Quality Assurance, and Medical Records. Joyce was employed by several healthcare entities in the Blackstone Valley area including, Milford-Whitinsville Regional Hospital, The Visiting Nurses Association of RI, Landmark Medical Center, and Friendly Nursing Home, when she retired at age 85.

Joyce also had a successful career in her second passion, fashion design, and was the Proprietor of the Joyce Mowry Fashion Design Boutique in Wrentham, MA from 1972 to 1980.

She was a talented oil and watercolor artist, with some of her work prominently displayed in the Trinity Episcopal Church, Whitinsville, MA.

Joyce was an active member of the St. James Episcopal Church in Woonsocket, RI and the Trinity Episcopal Church in Whitinsville, MA. She served on the Altar Guilds and Hospitality Committees. Joyce was also an advocate, contributor, and worker in the St. James Episcopal Church Prescott Beech Foodbank.

She is survived by her daughter, Donna Leigh Kayarian-Chiacchia and son-in-law Thomas Chiacchia of Whitinsville, MA, her nephew - Donald Mowry Voelker of New River, AZ, her grandnephew, Raymond Bergeron of Johnston, RI, her grandniece, Jacqueline Sorensen of Derry, NH, and her four great-grandnieces, Olivia, Isabelle, and Evelyn Sorensen of Merrimack, NH, and Alice Cripps of Derry, NH, and her beloved caregiver and friend, Jeanne Caruso of Milford, MA.

Her funeral will be held Saturday, March 12, 2022, beginning with visitation from 8:30-10:00 AM in the Holt Funeral Home, 510 South Main Street, Woonsocket. A church service will follow at 10:30AM in Trinity Episcopal Church, 33 Linwood Ave., Whitinsville. A second service will follow at 11:45AM in St. James Episcopal Church, 24 Hamlet Ave., Woonsocket. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Trinity Episcopal Church, Capital Campaign Fund, 33 Linwood Ave., Whitinsville, MA 01588, to the St. James Episcopal Church, Prescott Beach Food Bank, 24 Hamlet Ave., Woonsocket, RI 02895, or to Worcester Academy, at https://www.givecampus.com/campaigns/26000/donations/new