Bangor and Otis – Joyce B. Kearns, 93, died December 9, 2016, at the Maine Veterans Home, Bangor. She was born September 12, 1923, in Jonesboro, the daughter of Alfred and Juanita (Noyes) Bridgham.
Joyce went to a one room school house for elementary and high school in Jonesboro. She went on to college at the Machias Teacher’s College and the University of Maine and got her teaching degree. After college she served in the United States Navy during WWII.
Joyce was an elementary teacher in Bangor, but spent most of her time teaching at the Glenburn Elementary School. She was also a recruiting supervisor for the American Red Cross. Joyce was an avid reader and loved romance novels. She enjoyed knitting, crossword puzzles, and the long walks she took at her camp at Beech Hill. Joyce was the oldest female veteran at the Maine Veterans Home in Bangor and you would hear the staff and residents on B unit and throughout the facility call Joyce “Nana”.
In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by her husband of 60 years, James “Mickey” Kearns; son, Charles Kearns; daughter, Patricia Leach; granddaughter, Megan; brother, Keith Bridgham and sister-in-law, Julia Bridgham. Joyce is survived by two sons, James R. Kearns and his wife, Joan, of Ellsworth, and Alfred T. Kearns and his wife, Kim, of Glenburn; two daughters, Jeanne Kearns, of Half Moon Bay, CA, and Barbara DeCarolis and her husband, Nino, of Sacramento , CA; sister, Barbara Dobbin, of Jonesport; thirteen grandchildren, many great grandchildren, and one great-great grandchild.
Services will be held at a date and time to be announced later in the spring. Those wishing to remember Joyce in a special way may make gifts in her memory to the Maine Veterans Home, 44 Hogan Road Bangor, Maine 04401. Condolences to the family may be expressed at www.BrookingsSmith.com
Joyce went to a one room school house for elementary and high school in Jonesboro. She went on to college at the Machias Teacher’s College and the University of Maine and got her teaching degree. After college she served in the United States Navy during WWII.
Joyce was an elementary teacher in Bangor, but spent most of her time teaching at the Glenburn Elementary School. She was also a recruiting supervisor for the American Red Cross. Joyce was an avid reader and loved romance novels. She enjoyed knitting, crossword puzzles, and the long walks she took at her camp at Beech Hill. Joyce was the oldest female veteran at the Maine Veterans Home in Bangor and you would hear the staff and residents on B unit and throughout the facility call Joyce “Nana”.
In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by her husband of 60 years, James “Mickey” Kearns; son, Charles Kearns; daughter, Patricia Leach; granddaughter, Megan; brother, Keith Bridgham and sister-in-law, Julia Bridgham. Joyce is survived by two sons, James R. Kearns and his wife, Joan, of Ellsworth, and Alfred T. Kearns and his wife, Kim, of Glenburn; two daughters, Jeanne Kearns, of Half Moon Bay, CA, and Barbara DeCarolis and her husband, Nino, of Sacramento , CA; sister, Barbara Dobbin, of Jonesport; thirteen grandchildren, many great grandchildren, and one great-great grandchild.
Services will be held at a date and time to be announced later in the spring. Those wishing to remember Joyce in a special way may make gifts in her memory to the Maine Veterans Home, 44 Hogan Road Bangor, Maine 04401. Condolences to the family may be expressed at www.BrookingsSmith.com
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