Obituary of Joan B (Boyd) Manley

Joan B. Manley of Peabody, MA, and formally of East Haven, CT, and Fair Haven, NJ, died peacefully on Thursday afternoon, October 21, 2010 at Renaissance Gardens at Brooksby Village in Peabody following a long illness. Joan, born on September 10, 1922 in Buffalo, NY, was 88 years old. She was the daughter of the late Harold E Boyd, and the late Catherine Wahl Boyd, both of Buffalo. Joan was the beloved wife of John Manley with whom she shared over 67 years of marriage. She was the loving mother of Michael and his wife Jane Manley of Flemington, NJ and David Manley and his wife Nancy Shorter of Gloucester, MA, sister of Maryann Donnelly of Phoenix, AZ and beloved grandmother of Laura Schlett, Jill Sandyck, Scott Manley and Christopher Manley; and great grandmother of Rebecca Schlett, Emma Schlett, Nathanael Schlett, Evan Schlett, and Tyler Sandyck. Joan spent her formative years living in East Haven, CT, and graduated from Montclair High School, Montclair, NJ. Joan’s father was an industrial engineer whose occupation resulted in the family moving frequently. Joan met her much-loved husband John of West Medford, MA when they were both students at Tufts University in Medford, MA. On the evening they met, John had planned to go to the movies with some of his college buddies, when a friend asked him to go out on a blind date with Joan. John initially declined until he discovered that the intended date was with Joan Boyd whom he had seen while he served as a Chapel Monitor at the Tufts Chapel. He quickly changed his mind and went on the date with, in his words, “the best looking girl on campus.” Shortly after John graduated from Tufts in 1942 he enlisted in the service and attended officer candidate school. After being commissioned a second lieutenant in the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, John and Joan were married on July 13, 1943 in Syracuse NY. While John went off to perform his military duties, Joan worked in a General Motors factory in Syracuse, NY working a milling machine making carbine barrels for rifles to be used in the war effort. They were briefly reunited at March Field, CA until John was shipped to the Pacific Theatre of Operations. Their first son, Michael, was born in December, 1944 at McPherson Army Hospital, Atlanta Georgia where Joan resided with her parents eagerly awaiting the end of the war. After his discharge from the Army, John, Joan and Michael moved to West Medford, and John soon began his business career in Boston. Shortly thereafter, the family moved to South Braintree, MA, and then to Braintree. A second son, David, was born on June 24, 1949 in Weymouth, MA. A job change landed the family in Fair Haven, NJ where they resided until 1987. While living in Fair Haven, Joan was very active as a volunteer at Riverview Hospital in Red Bank, NJ and for Planned Parenthood in Monmouth County, NJ. She was a founding member of the Unitarian Church of Monmouth County (NJ) where she taught Sunday school and published the church newsletter. When John retired in 1985, Joan and John maintained homes in Palm City, FL and Melvin Village, NH. In 2005 they moved to Brooksby Village, Peabody, MA. Joan enjoyed square dancing at the club level, tennis, bowling, reading, tole painting, travel and going to the beach. She was a former member of the Navesink Country Club, Middletown, NJ, Surfrider Beach Club, Sea Bright, NJ, Pipers Landing Yacht and Country Club, Palm City, FL, and Bald Peak Colony Club, Melvin Village, NH. A celebration of Joan’s life will be a private service. Donations in Joan’s memory may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, 311 Arsenal St. Watertown, MA 02472.