Joyce was born on July 24, 1944 in Plymouth Massachusetts. Her parents were Clifden and Pauline (Wood) Devine. Joyce was proud of her family's Pilgrim heritage, her childhood community’s natural beauty and its contribution to our country’s culture and history.
Joyce had an idyllic childhood in Plymouth and was an outstanding student, graduating Plymouth High School in 1962. She then went on to receive a Bachelor's Degree from Keene State College in 1966.
Joyce had an effervescent personality and made friends easily. She loved the “out of doors” and the simple things in life. She loved to have fun and engage in small adventures with friends. She was also strong willed and opinionated. She could be competitive, but understood the values of comradeship integrated into activities. She had very high expectations of herself and others. She was temperamentally, “the field hockey official.” She made judgements as she saw them and seldom changed her mind. She also drew from the lessons of tennis and golf and called her own lines unscrupulously and with integrity. She drew from running self-discipline and endurance. She drew from her expert skiing the courage to never lean into the hill.
Joyce was an outstanding athlete. She was inducted into the Plymouth / Carver High School Hall of Fame, lettering all three years in Field Hockey, Basketball and Softball. At Keene State College, she was a member of the Field Hockey and Ski Teams all four years. Later she became an outstanding local runner, participating in innumerable races, including the Mt. Washington Road Race. She was active in local tennis and a member of the Keene Racquet Club. She was a truly exceptional alpine skier. Skiing with Joyce was to experience an art form, integrating grace of movement, bravery of spirit, and absolute control of perfectly carved turns within a canvas of our most beautiful natural environment. In 1971, she was United States Eastern Amateur Ski Association Slalom Champion in her age group.
Joyce was a Physical Education Teacher in Gardner and Duxbury Massachusetts for a few years after graduating from college. After moving to Westmoreland in 1972, she was a well-respected Field Hockey Official in both New Hampshire and Vermont, and a Ski Instructor at Mt. Ascutney in Vermont.
In 1972, Joyce married Richard Cate and they bought an old farmhouse that had not been lived in for the preceding 50 years. Doing all of the work themselves (with the help of many neighbors and relatives), they rebuilt a modern home and life. Joyce felt her most important role was as the “Home Support Director” for her life partner and husband. She worked tirelessly providing good counsel and domestic support, still finding time to engage in many activities with Dick and friends. These included running or walking almost daily, figure skating, canoeing (including white water), kayaking, fly fishing, tennis, golf in her younger years, hiking, swimming, snowshoeing, alpine skiing, cross country skiing, and bicycling as well as mowing the lawn and picking up leaves in the fall.
For many years, Joyce’s biggest pleasure was her annual month or so on Martha’s Vineyard. She made many friends there and so loved her time on the beach and in the warm waters of Vineyard Sound. She loved island culture and kept up on island politics and issues.
Joyce is survived by her husband of 52 years, Richard Cate, of Westmoreland and his family, as well as her sister, Robin Devine, of Hampton, NH and her family.
A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday May 4, 2024 at 11:00 AM at the Westmoreland United Church (on the common) with a reception to follow at the Westmoreland School on Glebe Road a short walk from the church. Parking is available behind the church accessed from Glebe Road
The burial service will be private in the Westmoreland Cemetery. There are no public calling hours.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Joyce’s honor to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, PO Box 849168, Boston MA 02284-9168.
DONATIONS
Dana-Farber Cancer InstitutePO Box 849168, Boston, Massachusetts 02284-9168
SHARE OBITUARYSHARE
v.1.11.6