Joyce Nicholes Woodbury, 95, died May 21, 2026 in South Portland, Maine of causes incident to old age.

Joyce was born November 8, 1930 in St. George, UT, the eighth of nine children, to Joseph Kelly and Olive Maiben Nicholes. She was raised in Provo, UT. Joyce graduated from Brigham Young University in 1952 with a BA in Art. She spent that summer with friends in southern California, only to discover that while she was a star at BYU, she was one of many eager young artists in Los Angeles. Joyce returned to BYU to get her teaching certificate and taught school in Heber, UT.

An unexpected blessing from her California stay was meeting her future husband, Hugh Woodbury, a physics student at the California Institute of Technology. Their courtship proceeded slowly due to geographical distance, particularly once Hugh graduated and was hired by the General Electric Research and Development Center in Niskayuna, NY. Joyce lived with her oldest sister Eleanor in New York City the summer of 1954 and then got a teaching job in Troy, NY.

Joyce and Hugh married June 29, 1955 in the Salt Lake City (UT) Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) and raised their seven children in the Church. Joyce held many volunteer Church callings, including Sunday School teacher, librarian, family history consultant, teacher in the women’s auxiliary as well as teacher, Blazer Scout leader, local president and stake (diocese) president of the children’s organization. From 1992-94, Joyce and Hugh served as full-time senior missionaries in London, England. For over a decade beginning in 2000, they traveled to the LDS Church’s temple in Boston, MA weekly to assist others.

Joyce continued to teach art (in Schenectady, NY) until her first child was born. She regularly took community classes. She returned to school in her fifties and earned an MFA in Lithography in 1988 from the State University of New York at Albany.

In 1996, Joyce and Hugh left upstate New York for new adventures on Peaks Island, ME (a 20-minute ferry ride from Portland), fulfilling Hugh’s lifelong dream of living on the water. They thought they would get ten good years but stayed for nearly twenty, until old age caught up with them and they moved to senior housing on the mainland. On Peaks, Joyce volunteered as a docent at the 5th Maine (Civil War Regiment) Museum. She also created mobiles and wall hangings from driftwood, shells, sea glass, pebbles, and other found objects.

Joyce was an avid reader and audiobook listener, especially of British mysteries. She belonged to various book clubs throughout her life. She once missed her ferry stop because she was so engrossed in her novel! She was an excellent baker, particularly noted for her bread, cinnamon rolls, and delectable pies. Joyce also loved flower gardening, which she did with an artist’s eye for height and color. Her expansive garden in Indian Hills (Glenville, NY) was chosen for garden tours. The smaller but no less lovely garden on Peaks Island drew admiration from tourists, photographers, and painters.

Joyce was predeceased by her beloved husband of 70 years, Hugh; their son, Eugene and grandson, Henry Joseph. She is survived by six children: Ann (Jerry Moore), Scotia, NY; Beth (Harry Hart), Puyallup, WA; Joseph, Orem, UT; Henry (Coral Oliver), Sharon, MA; Daniel (Cindy Henderson), West Friendship, MD; and Katherine, Portland, ME. Also eighteen grandchildren: Kezia, Emily, Jonathan, Kelly, Eve, Stephen, Daniel, Amanda, Zachary, Caleb, Alyssa, Elijah, Sylvia, Giacomo, Maggie, Jeffrey, Emma, and Justin. And seventeen great-grandchildren: James, Sarah, Madeline, Emma, Ivy, Olive, Ian, Westly, Max, McKinley, Oakley, Eliza, Aurora, Diana, Weston, Mia, and Sadie.

The funeral will be June 5, 2026 at 11am at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 29 Ocean House Road, Cape Elizabeth with a reception immediately following.