We mourn the passing of the matriarch of our family, Joyce Pierce Brady, 94, at Lewis County Residential Facility in Lowville, New York.  She was born the only child of Raymond Pierce and Wilhelmina Celeste Felts in Oneida, NY on April 2,1928.

Joyce grew up in various locations in the Mohawk Valley and Stroudsburg, PA.  Her family eventually moved back to Rome, NY, where she was a 1946 graduate of Rome Free Academy.  Shortly after graduation she and her mother moved to Carthage, NY where she worked as a secretary at Climax Manufacturing.

She married Joseph H. Brady at St. James Catholic Church in Carthage on May 5,1951.  They enjoyed 67 years of marriage until Joe's passing on September 23, 2018. This milestone earned them the title of "Last Couple Standing On the Dance Floor" at many family weddings and gatherings.  Together, they had 3 children: Linda (Mark) Keddy and Tom Brady of Carthage and Jeff (Karen) Brady of Denver, Colorado.  They had 6 grandchildren:  Ryan and Megan (Jarosz) Keddy, Ryan, Jeffrey and Allison (Bush) Brady, and Carly Brady. They also had 4 great-grandchildren: Addisyn, Ella and Marcus Jarosz and the newest addition who she never met, Avery Lyn Bush, who was born on August 31.  This is a true testament to the adage of "the circle of life".  She enjoyed reading to and playing with the older great-grandchildren and snuggling with Marcus.  She is also survived by her brother-in-law, Patrick Brady of Carthage and several nieces and nephews.  She is predeceased by her parents and husband.

Joyce converted to Catholicism upon her marriage and was a communicant of St. James Catholic Church in Carthage.  She and Joe attended daily Mass in Carthage and on Wednesdays looked forward to and enjoyed breakfast at the Town Talk with their Copenhagen church family after Mass.

She was a homemaker while raising her children and was a wonderful baker.  She was always called upon to provide desserts for family gatherings. She later became the Tax Collector for the Carthage Central School District for several years.  Although she professed to be a poor Math student, her tax books always balanced down to the penny.

Upon their retirements, she and Joe spent over 30 winters in the Daytona Beach/Ponce Inlet area of Florida where they made life-long friends, walked the beach every day, and attended Embry Riddle basketball games for years, often traveling with the team to away games in other states.

Joyce was a founding member of the Carthage Area Hospital Auxiliary and served in the capacity of an officer for years.  She and her friends turned their hours and hours of volunteering running the Gift Shop into a social event which benefited the Carthage area. She was an avid reader and would read 2-3 books in a week well into her 80's.  She also did Crossword Puzzles and Word Finds to keep herself sharp.

A Funeral Mass will be held at St. James Catholic Church in Carthage at 12:00 on Saturday, September 10, 2022.  A calling hour will begin at 11:00 at the church.  Burial will follow at the Hillside Cemetery in West Carthage.

Donations in her memory can be made to The St. James Capital Campaign at 327 West St. in Carthage, NY.

Her family would like to thank the staff at Meadowbrook Assisted Living Facility in Carthage and the Lewis County Residential Facility in Lowville for their compassionate care.

To leave an online condolence, go to www. bezanillafh.com.