Joy Armstrong, 85, of Pleasant View Avenue, Smithfield passed away November 10th in RI Hospital in Providence surrounded by her family. She was the wife of the late John Howard Armstrong who passed on January 6th 2020.
They had been married for 63 years.
Joy was born in Providence, a daughter of the late William C. and Violet I. (Hodgkins) MacCracken. She had lived in Smithfield previously living in Lincoln. Joy and John wintered in Ft. Lauderdale, FL for over 20 years. Joy had been the Office Manager for C & M Auto before retiring in 1998. She had attended Bryant College in Providence and was a Kappa Delta Kappa Sorority. She loved cooking and hosting parties for her family and friends. She was an avid dog lover.
John was born in Stone, Kentucky, a son of the late Roy and Thelma (Blackburn) Armstrong. He was predeceased by his brother William Armstrong of Mt. Clemens, Mi., and survived by his brother Joseph Armstrong of Hattiesburg, Mississippi. He had joined the US Navy in 1954 and when stationed in Newport, RI, he met Joy on leave and fell in love. They were married on June 16th, 1956 in Bellingham, MA. John was also known as Jack and he was an automobile enthusiast and enjoyed restoring Corvettes. Jack had worked at various car dealerships before he opened his own shop, C & M Auto in Pawtucket, RI. He worked with his wife Joy and their son John before Jack retired. In retirement Jack restored antique cars.
Jack was a former member of The Corvette Club of Rhode Island, and attended reunions of The U.S.S. Harwood, a gearing-class destroyer he served on while in the U.S. Navy.
Joy and Jack were avid boaters and enjoyed fishing together and spent many years in Narragansett and Ft Lauderdale fishing with their boating friends.
They leave their children, Linda Boisclair and son in law Raymond of Carolina, RI, Sandra Descoteaux of Cumberland, RI, John Armstrong and daughter in law Elizabeth of Northport, ME and Karen Armstrong of Lincoln, RI. They also leave 8 Grandchildren, Benjamin Boisclair of Ashaway, RI, Christian Descoteaux of Providence, RI, Leah Descoteaux of Stafford Springs, Ct, Brian Benoit of Lincoln, RI, Christopher Benoit of Cranston, RI, Andrea Marin of Lincoln, RI, Jaime Melo of Lincoln, RI and Elisa Armstrong of Exeter, RI, and 9 Great-Grandchildren, Gavin Boisclair, Caden Boisclair, Brecken Mayer, Nuala Mayer, Charlie Landolfi, Dominic Marin, Azlynn Thiverage, April Benoit, and Carter Costantino.
Their funeral will be private. Burial with Military Honors will be in the RI Veteran's Cemetery, Exeter, RI. Visitation to which relatives and friends are invited will be held Friday November 19th from 4-7pm in the Anderson-Winfield Funeral Home, Route 44 at Greenville Common, Greenville, RI.