Joyce A. O'Brien, 81, of Pocasset, MA, wife of Joseph W. O'Brien (retired owner of the former Pomeroy Coal & Oil Company in Chicopee, MA), passed Tuesday, February 3 in UMASS Medical Center in Worcester, MA, with family by her side, after her brave fight with cancer.
Joyce was born in Mandan, ND, daughter of the late Roy and Helen (Schmidt) Pitzer,she spent her adolescence in Mandan, ND and Tacoma, WA. Joyce graduated from Lincoln High School and attended Business School in Tacoma, WA. Joyce later met Joe, a native of Chicopee, while he was stationed in Tacoma while enroute to the Korean War. They fell in love, married and moved to Chicopee where they raised their family. She was active in many community and social activities such as DARA Athletics, Girl Scout Programs and Holy Name of Jesus Parish while very busy raising her children. She was a strong, independent woman that embodied DIY before its time - meticulous in all home improvement projects, forever restoring the family Victorian home at 357 Springfield Street. To her credit, the house and yard were always full of activity - the central gathering place for the neighborhood kids – at the pool in the summer and at the backyard skating rink in the winter. Above all, she was forever an example to her children of the importance of family in one’s life – keeping close to family in Tacoma and her beloved North Dakota, making her annual trip west every year.
Joyce leaves her son, Michael V. O'Brien of Worcester, MA, six daughters, Megan O'Brien of Kirkland, WA, Kathleen O'Brien-Horne of Brewster, MA, Julie Kelly of Reading, MA, Ellen Borgeson of Franklin, MA, Carol Grimm of Freeport, ME, and Deirdre McConnell of Holliston, MA. She is also survived by her nieces and nephews including James O'Brien of Boxford, MA, Tara O'Brien of Brattleboro, VT and Kevin O'Brien of Chicopee, MA to whom Joyce assumed the role of loving mother and mentor upon the death of their parents, William and Mikiko O'Brien; all her son and daughters in-laws, 15 grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, a sister Carol Kyle of Tacoma WA, and in-laws Thomas O'Brien of Ft. Lauderdale, FL, Richard O'Brien of Northampton, MA, Anne Ahern of Toledo, OH and Edmund Dowd of Chicopee. Besides her parents and husband, Joyce was also predeceased by a loving son, David O'Brien. Joyce also leaves behind many friends and family in Chicopee, Tacoma and Mandan who were so dear to her heart and have provided her with laughter, strength and love throughout her life.
Services and Burial will be private in Chicopee. Friends of Joyce and her family are invited to join a celebration of her life from Noon to 4:00pm at The Munich House, 2nd Floor Banquet Hall, 13 Center Street, Chicopee MA. In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made to the Bone Marrow Transplant Program at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester. Please note that your gift is in memory of Joyce O’Brien. Donations should be made out to UMMF – Nath-Bone Marrow Transplant Program and mailed to UMass Medicine Development Office, 333 South Street, Shrewsbury, MA 01545.
Arrangements in the care of Callahan~Fay~Caswell Funeral Home, 61 Myrtle Street, Worcester.