LACONIA ---- Joycelyn (Ann) Braddock Dickinson, 83, passed away peacefully on Monday, July 25, 2022, at Concord Hospital.
Joy was born on January 23, 1939, in Leesport, PA, the daughter of the late Richard Russell Braddock and Thelma Grace (Hollinger) Braddock, formerly of Fleetwood, PA and Greenfield, MA. She attended Greenfield High School and went on to study at Endicott College in Beverly, MA. Soon after, she married John Cross Dickinson, of Greenfield, MA. They were married for 57 years until John’s passing in 2018. After eight years as a devoted wife of an Air Force fighter pilot, Joy, John, and their two daughters settled in Laconia, NH in 1970.
She was an active communicant of St. James Episcopal Church and served on the Alter Guild, co-chairperson for the Snowflake Village Church Fair, and was a member of the St. James Nursery School Board. Volunteering was a big part of Joy’s life. She helped wherever it was needed – The Soup Kitchen, the WIC Program, playground monitor at Pleasant St. School, LHS Marching Band Parent Volunteer with the majorettes to name a few organizations. She was also part of the Order of Rainbow for Girls, Laconia Assembly #3, where she served as recording secretary for years and was awarded the Grand Cross of Color.
Joy had a love of teaching. She began her teaching career at the Roberts School in Shelburne, MA where she taught until she became a wife and mother. She would return to teaching as a special education aide at Pleasant Street School in the 1970’s, but she found her calling working as a pre-school teacher at St. James Nursery School for 33 years. She touched many little lives. Mostly recently, she was employed at the Laconia Antique Center, where she loved to share her appreciation and knowledge of all things old and collectible.
Survivors include her daughters, Barbara J. Paquette, and her husband, Peter F. Paquette, of Somersworth, NH, and Pamela D. Hallett, and her husband, Howard B. Hallett Jr, of Dover, NH; her pride and joy, her grandchildren, Michael N. Paquette, Drew C. Hallett, and Grace A. Hallett; her sister-in-law, Judith Dickinson Taylor, and her husband, John Taylor, of Sturbridge, MA; her nieces, Deborah Taylor, Sarah Rothammer, and Rebecca Archambeault, and their families.
Her family would like to thank the staff of Concord Hospital for their compassionate care and support during her illness.
Joy will forever be remembered for her devotion to her family and friends, for her love of children and the teachers she taught with at St. James Nursery School. Joy had many wonderful attributes, but her family and friends overlooked her one flaw. She was a NY Yankees fan.
Her life was filled with enriching hours of charitable work, therefore, in celebration of Joy’s life, her wish was, in lieu of a service or flowers, friends consider giving their time to the charity of their choice.
Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home & Cremation Services and 603Cremations.com, 164 Pleasant Street, Laconia, NH, is assisting the family with arrangements. For more information and to view an online memorial, please visit www.wilkinsonbeane.com.