Zevart Adams

Zevart “Joyce” Adams died on Monday, November 9, 2026, at her home in Ventura, CA from end stage Ovarian Cancer. Joyce was a fifty-year resident of Ventura Keys and served her community as a Registered Nurse at several local hospitals including Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura and Santa Paula Hospital and Pleasant Valley Hospital.

Joyce was born in Aleppo, Syria on November 24, 1940, the daughter of Dikran and Araxy Khacherian. She was always proud of her Armenian heritage.

Raised in Lebanon, Joyce received her nursing education at the American University of Beirut (AUB) and the American University Hospital (AUH). After working in Lebanon, she was recruited to Switzerland, where she worked as a registered nurse for two years. In the late 1960s, Joyce was recruited and hired by the Los Angeles County/University of Southern California Medical Center, where she worked until the early 1970s, when she relocated to Ventura, California.

Joyce and her husband, Bob Adams, raised two sons and she appreciated the community. She was an active participant in the successful effort to save Pierpont Elementary School from closure.

Joyce was predeceased by her parents, and her elder brother, Edward.

She is survived by her beloved sons, Scott and Brian Adams of Ventura, her treasured niece and family, Grace, Ross and Gemma Greaney of Oxnard Shores, and her brother, Onnig Khacherian of Berny Riviere, France. As well as her cherished niece and nephews in Spain, Paris, Lebanon and numerous cousins and extended family members around the world.

Joyce is also mourned by legions of friends and former colleagues who will always miss her welcoming spirit, kindness and amazing cooking skills. She was also a devout Christian who believed in caring for others in any way she could.

Services to honor and celebrate Joyce’s life will be held on Friday, November 27, at 2:00 p.m. at:

Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks–Griffin Memorial Park, Mortuary & Crematory

5600 Lindero Canyon Road

Westlake Village, CA 91362