Joan Mae (White) Boutwell, 86, of Lowell, passed away after a brief but courageous battle with pancreatic cancer on Saturday, December 23 at her home in Lowell. She was the widow of William White, Jr., the father of her children, and later Norman Boutwell with whom she spent 35 years of marriage before he passed away.
Joan was born on October 9, 1937 in Woburn and was a daughter of the late Gertrude Sylvester. She was raised and educated in the Woburn/Wilmington area and eventually settled in Billerica to raise her own children.
While raising her family she also worked. Her career spanned 40 plus years with New England Pediatric Care in Billerica. She started in the kitchen and worked her way up to the kitchen manager before her retirement in December of 2022.
She loved trips to the casino, shopping and especially bingo. Joan was a spitfire and she told it like it was. You know where you stood with her, honest, hardworking and feisty are just few words to describe her unique personality. Above all though, she was a wonderful mother who put her family first, she will be sorely missed by her large family, especially her daughters.
She is survived by her 3 daughters, Linda White of Medford, Carol Mehigan and her husband, Edward, of Lowell, and Brenda Hilton and her husband, Ronald, of Lowell, her 8 grandchildren, over 20 great grandchildren and 1 great great granddaughter. She also is survived by her sisters, Barbara Nickerson of Reading, Patti Dean of Milford and Irene Doucett of Georgia.
She was also predeceased by the late Shirley O'Donnell, the late Richard White and the late James White.
On Thursday, January 4, all are welcome to attend her visitation from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m. and her funeral service which will be held at 4 p.m. at McDonough Funeral Home, 14 Highland Street, Lowell, MA.