Maureen Agnes Duffly Joyce

Family, Friends, Flowers, Food, Fun and Travel were her greatest loves. She was a kind and generous friend to many, from childhood through Archbishop Williams High School ‘58 and Quincy City Hospital School of Nursing ‘64 to the US Army and her beloved Quivet Neck neighborhood.

Strong, fierce, loving, incredible, kind, witty and mischievous, she lived life to its fullest. She loved to cook and hosted many grand feasts. She had a robust and irreverent sense of humor. She was an original feminist. She was an ace tennis player and it was her favorite sport. She proudly declared “good girls go to heaven; bad girls go everywhere” on one of the many stickers holding her car together and she did. She traveled the world with family, friends and on her own.

Her favorite place on earth was Quivet Neck in East Dennis. As a child she would impatiently wait to be invited to a weekend on Cronin’s beach. As an adult she bought and cared for a historic home. The ocean brought her life, and she would take her last dip on her birthday, Nov 2nd, for as long as she was able. Her flower gardens burst with color and were where she could be found early on summer mornings with a hose or trowel in her hand. Afternoons spent relaxing in her back yard, while friends and neighbors frequently stopped by to visit. She served on Jacob Sear Memorial Library board, started the homeowner's association, and spent countless hours successfully campaigning to Save the Crowe.

She was predeceased by her husband Colonel Brendan Joyce, whom she met while serving as an Army nurse at Letterman General Hospital in San Francisco. She is survived by her daughter Kathleen Joyce of East Dennis, her brother Thomas Duffly and wife Frances of Boston, her sisters Ann Mitchelson of Braintree and Kathleen Budreski and husband Fred of Brewster, as well as several nieces and nephews, Susan Bradley (Mark) Sarah Vitulano (Scott), Mark Budreski (Hannah), Anjali Budreski, and Jon Budreski. She was predeceased by her brother-in-law David Mitchelson and niece Lisa Mitchelson.

Donations in Maureen’s name may be made to Dennis Conservation Land Trust or the Dennis Historic Society. A celebration of her life will be held in her garden in the spring when her Hollyhocks start to bloom.