READFIELD – Joy passed peacefully at MaineGeneral Medical Center on Aug. 7, 2023, after a brief illness. She was attended to by family and an exceptionally caring team of doctors and nurses in her last days.

Joy was born on July 15, 1936 in Medford, Ore., the daughter of Lillian Blanche Pendegrass Wright and Harvey Wright. She had one sibling, Leona Fay McMahan.

She attended Deaconess Hospital School of Nursing, graduating in 1958, in San Jose, Calif. It was there that she met Russell Otis Walters, at the local United Methodist Church’s single young adults’ group. He was living in Cloverdale, Calif., working for the California Division of Highways, as an engineer. Joy and Russell married in 1963 in Santa Clara, Calif., honeymooning in Carmel. Joy was a model Methodist wife, devoted to her husband Russell, who predeceased her in 2015.

They were blessed with three children, and profoundly saddened by the loss of their daughter, Jeanne, in infancy, in 1971. The family enjoyed many happy years with their son, Michael and daughter Laura, before her separation from the family due to a mental illness in 2020. Mike has remained Joy’s devoted companion and helper, sharing a very special bond.

They relocated in 1973 to the ancestral farm in Readfield. Joy fit in perfectly as a Mainer, despite her west coast roots. During their marriage they enjoyed camping, coastal trips, and visiting family members. They were snowbirds, wintering in Lakeland, Fla.

The Torsey United Methodist Church family has been very important to her. She sang in the choir, and volunteered with Russell as custodians.

Joy and Russell also volunteered at the Readfield Historical Society. The farm has been the Walters family home for over 100 years. Joy loved family get-togethers and accompanying group photos, whether in Oregon, California, at the Readfield farm, or at Nancy’s family camp. At all parties, she was especially fond of children, who remember her kind and loving presence in their childhoods. She was an OB-GYN Nurse at the Augusta Hospital, bringing her faith and strong intellect to her role. She made lifelong friendships there.

At home she enjoyed flower gardening, growing porch tomatoes, blackberry bushes and making pies. She was health- and nutrition-conscious throughout her life, walking daily. She loved reading, and was well-known for her unique crocheted bears, which were each named and given as highly cherished gifts.

She considered her neighbors, the Fikes and the Millers, as family. Their help in countless ways allowed her to remain at home alone, though Joy remained a fiercely independent, and admirably self-sufficient woman until her final days.

She is survived by her sonm Michael of Gardiner, daughter, Laura, last known of Red Bank, N.J.; as well as many nieces, nephews, and in-laws.

Arrangements are in the care of Roberts Funeral Home and Cremation Service, 62 Bowdoin St., Winthrop, where memories, condolences and photos may be shared with the family at http://www.khrfuneralhomes.com. 

A celebration of Joy’s life will be at 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 27 at Torsey United Methodist Church in Kents Hill.

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