Ruth Claire (Casey) Joyce

Born in Boston, she was a daughter of the late Thomas (born in Derrynacarane Townland, County Galway, Ireland) and Mary (McMenimon) Casey born in Boston, Ma. Ruth was the beloved wife of the late Oliver J. Joyce, (Decorated WWII DAV Navy Veteran) and the devoted mother of William Joyce and his partner Susan, Nancy O’Brien and her husband Michael, Maria Flessa and her husband Ted, John Joyce and his wife Carol, Carole Ann Joyce, Ellen O’Keefe and her husband Leo, Ruthie O’Shea and her husband Charlie, the late David Joyce and his surviving wife Nancy. She was the sister of Carol Langille, and the late Mary Williams, Thomas Casey, Margaret Casey, John Casey, Eleanor Forte, Ann Schottmiller, and Joseph Casey. Ruth was the proud grandmother of Eric, Michael J., Justin, Rebecca, Brendan, Michael O., Caroline, Andrew, Lindsey, Matthew, Chris, Olivia, Abigail and Emerette. Loving great-grandmother of Charlotte, James, and Kayleigh. Ruth is survived by many nieces and nephews who she loved deeply. The family wishes to extend their sincere thanks to Ruth’s many caregivers for their kind and compassionate care in her final days.

Ruth was a graduate of Julia Ward Howe elementary and Roxbury Memorial High School (Girls) After Ruth graduated in 1944 she worked at John Hancock as a Statistician (1944-1949) determining benefits for war veterans. She met her husband, Oliver (Rocky) at a friend's wedding and when they had their very first date, he declared that he would marry her, and he did. They were married June 4, 1949 at St. Joseph’s Church in Roxbury Massachusetts. Ruth and Rocky had a magic spark that lasted for fifty years. In Ruth's early years she enjoyed summers at her sister Mary’s cottage in Wells, Maine where she would reminisce about church dances and riding up after work with a car load of friends and her sister Anna who always drove, to enjoy a weekend on Moody Beach. Later Ruth and Rocky also enjoyed many special times in Maine at Moody Beach too. Ruth's first home, built by her husband, was on Cedar Grove Street in Dorchester, St. Brendan's Parish. She was an impeccable homemaker who raised seven children in their quaint Cape before making a move to her lovely Craftsman style home in Milton where she had her last baby, number eight, who was also her namesake. Life was incredibly busy but Ruth always rose to the challenges and wore many different hats including secretary for her husband’s business, teacher, nurse and most important loving Mother. Ruth was an amazing Mother who provided for her children in every possible way, especially her special needs daughter who lived with her for most of her life. She loved her family deeply and made every Sunday family meal special and holidays, particularly Thanksgiving and Christmas, were always a treat with the big Turkey Dinners with all the Trimmings and the customary nine foot Christmas trees decorated beautifully with all of her children's homemade ornaments she saved over the years. Her wonderful homemade clam chowder and all the love she poured into making the holidays so special because she so enjoyed being with her family. It was a “labor of love” she used to say. She had so many talents but one of most special gifts was her handwritten notes which always included the most touching and heartfelt poems and messages. Here is an example: “Life isn’t about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain. The happiest people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.” She spent many summers on the Cape in Buzzards Bay and later Sandwich where she enjoyed Honeypot and Snake Lake, many different Cape beaches like Old Silver, and Sandwich Town beach where she collected seaglass. Ruth enjoyed watching all the local sports teams and was quite a cheerleader for all of the Boston sports teams. She also played the piano and when she took her very first lesson her piano teacher exclaimed "you don't need any lesson just go home and play". Ruth was gifted with having the ability to play the piano by ear and had a lovely singing voice to match. She and Rocky would harmonize beautifully to all the old barbershop songs. Later in life, Ruth would play on her old upright Bocart piano with one of her fourteen grandchildren sitting in her lap, patiently tapping out the chords so they too could learn to appreciate the gift of music. Ruth loved her grandchildren dearly and spent hours reading books to them, walking to the park up the street, enjoying cucumber sandwiches and tea parties, building forts, playing card games and an all time favorite board game, Husker Du, to grow their memory skills. She also was a serious scrabble player and challenged her players on every word. Ruth moved to Westwood in her late years and life began to slow down. She enjoyed doing puzzles, reading the paper, word searches and watching the old black and white films on (TMC), Turner Classic Movies. Then the roles started to reverse and her children became her caretaker. All of her children provided her with the very best care, along with all of her exceptional caregivers, and this permitted Ruth to stay in her lovely apartment until her last breath, a true labor of love, and one of her very last wishes. She had a long run as they say, 95 years just shy of her 96th birthday in November. Everyone who had the pleasure of meeting Ruth knew immediately she was the most kind, humble and compassionate woman. She had a very special way about her and no doubt her beautiful qualities stemmed from her strong Catholic faith. She watched the Mass everyday on EWTN Catholic television network when she could no longer attend church and said the Rosary for anyone in need of prayers. Outside of her family, her deep faith is what carried Ruth through all these years. She is at peace now with the love of her life, Rocky and her son, David who passed away just two years ago and all seven members of her family who preceded her in death. She will be deeply missed by all her children, grandchildren, surviving sister, and all of her kind neighbors at Highland Glen. She will be remembered for her beautiful smile, extraordinary faith, her wise and thoughtful ways, and all the little things she did that made her the most extraordinary woman, Mother and Grandmother anyone could possibly hope for.

Funeral from the Gillooly Funeral Home, 126 Walpole Street, (Rt. 1A) NORWOOD on Thursday November 3, at 9 AM. Funeral Mass in St. Margaret Mary Church, 845 High Street, Westwood at 10 AM. Visiting hours in the Funeral Home Wednesday, 4-8. Interment Massachusetts National Cemetery, Friday at 12:30.

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