Joan Lucia Barboza Silva of Weymouth, Massachusetts, stepped peacefully into the loving arms of her Savior on November 6, 2026, at the age of 83, after a valiant and faith-filled battle with leukemia.
Joanne, or Joan, as she also liked to be known, was born on January 22, 1943, in New Britain, Connecticut, the third child of Margaret Roselia Santos Barboza of Plainville, Connecticut, and Manuel Antonio Barboza, Sr. of the area known as General Gomes on the northeast side of the island of Fogo, Cabo Verde. The family moved to Middleboro, Massachusetts, when she was about five years old.
As a child, Joan was quiet and sensitive. She attended Middleboro High School, where she was a strong student and a member of the National Honor Society. Her extracurricular activities included volleyball and field hockey, playing the accordion, managing the basketball team, and leading the majorette squad. She married David Carl Silva just three weeks after graduating from high school in 1961. They made their home in Carver, Massachusetts, where they were married for 23 years and had three children: Michelle (who died as an infant), Cynthia Marie, and Dawn Carla. She was a devoted mother and caring member of her large extended family. She was the go-to person whenever anyone was sick. She was the unofficial mom for her children’s teams, bands, and dance centers, walking with the band along parade routes and always having the stray safety pin, barrette, button, or anything else that anyone might need. She drove countless miles all over New England for competitions, performances, and, for a time, weekly baton lessons for the girls in Waltham, Massachusetts, and then Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
Joan was a self-described neat freak whose home was as welcoming as it was sparkling clean. When her children were young, she expressed her creativity through sewing special-occasion outfits and making costumes for their many recitals and performances. She also expressed her creativity and love through cooking and baking, and was known for baking at least a dozen pies, plus cookies and special breads every Thanksgiving.
After a few unrelated jobs, Joan found her calling as a nurse. She graduated from the Jordan Hospital School of Nursing’s L.P.N. program. Soon after, Dr. Charles James Gormley, Sr., the head of pediatrics at Jordan Hospital, asked her to become the nurse in his private practice. She worked with him from 1969 until he died in 1987. She counted those years as her most inspiring work experience. She and Dr. Gormley served countless Plymouth-area families in the office and made house calls. After that, she briefly worked for Drs. Richard and Marion Elliot until she moved to Connecticut later in 1987. There, she changed careers, using her nursing experience in the health insurance industry. From 1991 to 2007, she lived in California with daughter Dawn, helping raise her grandson, Kayin, and working with several health insurance companies. She took her last job with her when she returned to the East Coast in 2007, first to Bloomfield, Connecticut, and then to Weymouth, Massachusetts. She spent 15 years as a telecommuter and retired in 2022 at age 79.
In later years, Joan surrounded herself with beauty and created a fairy light display in the apartment that rivaled commercial light shows. Once she moved to Weymouth, she and Dawn’s shenanigans included both impromptu and planned trips to enjoy New England’s natural beauty, attend a festival, or visit a new park. They would meander through Pier 1 Imports, Home Goods, Bed, Bath, and Beyond, or the Christmas Tree Shops in search of the perfect glass paperweight, angel, or bedazzled accessory. They traveled far and wide in their van, which they aptly named Shenani-go, in search of a delicious meal or dessert featured on Phantom Gourmet or Chronicle.
Above all else, Joan was a devoted follower of Jesus who lived to love and serve others. She grew up and raised her children in the Catholic Church. In the 1980s, she found her way to the Charismatic Catholic movement, where her love for Scripture and the presence of the Holy Spirit deepened. While living in California, she and Dawn joined Christ Our Redeemer A.M.E. Church, under the leadership of the Rev. Drs. Mark and Mia Whitlock. She and Dawn spent countless hours preparing altar decorations and otherwise supporting their pastors. She remained connected to the Whitlocks when they moved to lead Reid Temple in Maryland and counted them among her most important relationships through her final days.
Joan never missed an opportunity to marvel at the beauty of God’s creation, whether driving around town or just looking out her bedroom or living room window. When asked by doctors and nurses how she was dealing with her diagnosis, Joan would always say, “This is just a season of life. My faith and my Holy Trinity - the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - are getting me through this season.” Ever focused on the well-being of others, she never expressed anger or frustration about the disease. She expressed gratitude for the simple pleasures, for just waking up each day, and for her medical team. Her main concern was how her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren were handling the situation. Whenever she left the apartment or returned, she would marvel at the sky, clouds, and water at Lane Beach, saying “Thank you, Lord, for sustaining us in this place!” God was truly her ever-present help in times of trouble.
Joan was preceded in death by her parents, Margaret Roselia Santos Barboza and Manuel Antonio Barboza Sr.; siblings Elvira Barboza Williams and Manuel Antonio Barboza, Jr.; daughter Michelle Silva; and ex-husband David Carl Silva. She is survived by brother and sister-in-law Bernard John and Stefi Heau Barboza of Kailua Kona, Hawaii; sister-in-law Patricia Barboza of Sterling, Virginia; daughter Dawn Carla Silva Hunter of Weymouth, Massachusetts; daughter and son-in-law Cynthia Marie Silva Parker and Anthony Alan Parker of Newton, Massachusetts; grandson Omari Haki Hayles of Medford, Massachusetts; grandson and granddaughter-in-law Kayin Yohance Hunter and Kristina Khudyakova Hunter of Mesa, Arizona; grandson Marcus Anthony Parker of Newton, Massachusetts; grandson and granddaughter-in-law David Carl Parker and Gabriella Chassedin Parker of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and great-grandchildren Jayden and Tiana Hunter of Mesa, Arizona. She is also survived by numerous aunts, nieces, nephews, cousins, friends, and former colleagues.
Joan did not want a funeral or memorial service. Instead, she wanted her family and friends to throw a party where they could share stories, hear her favorite music, and laugh at the fun times they had together. Her daughters will arrange a celebration at Webb Park in Weymouth in 2027, once the weather supports an outdoor event. If you’d like the details as they unfold, email Cynthia at [email protected]. In the meantime, please consider donating to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Joan’s memory to honor the excellent, compassionate care she received and to support their cancer research and patient care.
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
P.O. Box 849168
Boston, MA 02284
dana-farber.org/gift. Donate Here
Please click the guestbook button above to let the family know you were here and share a favorite story about Joan and what she meant to you. Also, feel free to share a favorite Bible verse if you have one. The family will add your stories to a book of Joan’s life story, which she started writing soon after her diagnosis. Thank you, and God bless you!