CHICOPEE – Joyce M. (Desmarais) Dowd, 74, of the Willimansett section of Chicopee, was Called Safely Home on Friday, May 6, 2016. She passed into Eternal Life at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield surrounded by the care and comfort of her loving family. She was born in Holyoke on September 12, 1941, a beloved daughter of the late Joseph and Gertrude (Duffy) Desmarais. She was raised in Chicopee and graduated from Chicopee Comprehensive High School. She furthered her education and received an Associate Degree from Holyoke Community College. She later lived on Providence Street in the Aldenville section of Chicopee for many years before moving to the Willimansett section of Chicopee in 1997. Joyce was employed as a florist for many years at Stop & Shop in Holyoke and later in Chicopee. She was also employed as a teacher’s aide for the Chicopee School Department where she worked closely with special needs students. During her younger years, she was a former Den Mother for the Cub Scouts and an Assistant Girl Scout Leader. During her leisure time, Joyce was a member of the Five Easy Pieces Bowling Team and was a passionate Water Color Painter. Her paintings were a treasured possession of her family and her many friends. She was a faithful communicant of the former Saint Mary of the Assumption Church in Willimansett and currently a communicant of Sainte Rose de Lima Church in Aldenville. Most of all, she was a wonderful homemaker to her family and showered them with her love and affection which was returned to her a thousand fold. She was predeceased by her beloved husband and best friend, Joseph F. Dowd who was Called Home on May 29, 1996. They were married on October 17, 1959 at Sainte Rose de Lima Church in Chicopee and were blessed with over 36 years of happiness together. She leaves her four loving children, Michael J. Dowd of Chicopee, and John C. Dowd and his wife, Tricia, Thomas J. Dowd and his wife, Lynda, and Sharon M. Dowd, all of Ludlow; her six cherished grandchildren whom she adored, Zachariah Dowd and Kayla Tudryn, Ryan and Callie Dowd, and Tyler and Trevor Dowd; her two dear sisters, Patricia Kearns of Ludlow and Jacqueline Giansanti of Chicopee; her two dear brothers, Raymond Desmarais and his wife, Carol, and Gary Desmarais and his wife, Nancy, all of Chicopee; her dear brother-in-law, James Dowd and his wife, Vicki, of Chicopee; her sister-in-law, Patricia Dowd of Chicopee; and her many dear nephews, nieces, cousins, friends and extended members of the Dowd and Desmarais families. Her funeral will be held on Thursday morning, May 12, 2016 beginning at the St. Pierre – Phaneuf Aldenville Chapels, (413-532-9806), 13 Dale Street, Chicopee, MA 01020, (funeral home will open at 8:30 a.m.), followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. in Sainte Rose de Lima Church, 600 Grattan Street, Chicopee, MA 01020. Her burial will follow the Mass at Sainte Rose Cemetery, 49 Olsen Street, Chicopee, MA 01020. Her family will receive friends at the funeral home on Wednesday, May 11, 2016 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. The parking lot and main entrance are located in the rear of the funeral home at 20 Lafayette Street, Chicopee, MA 01020. Her family has requested that memorial donations be made in her memory to Sainte Rose de Lima Church, c/o 15 Chapel Street, Chicopee, MA 01020. For more details, please visit: www.stpierrephaneuf.com