Obituary of Joyce Linda White

Joyce Linda (Mathison) White, 72, of Peabody and formerly of Revere, died Friday morning surrounded by loving family at her home following a fierce and courageous battle with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis and then, Small Cell Lung Cancer. She was the devoted wife of Charles M. White, Jr., with whom she shared 50 years of marriage and described as “a ten.” Born in Boston, she was the daughter of the late Clarence and Thelma (Emery) Mathison. The Mathison family home was in East Boston. Joyce had a talent for detailed electronic assembly work and in her early years worked for well-known manufacturing companies such as E G & G, where she met her husband in a romantic encounter in which they bumped into each other and he caught her in his arms. Once married, Joyce and Charles, an electrician, raised their four children, first in Chelsea and then in their private home on Revere Beach Parkway in Revere. She was an active community member of the Assumption Church in Chelsea and was always cheering on her children at their city sports games with great enthusiasm. Joyce was a loving and devoted mother who cherished raising her family and spared no efforts to create a loving home. To help support her family, she chipped in and worked mother’s hours for several companies before launching a career in retail, working her way up from shoe clerk to department manager at a major crafts store. Once retired, Joyce loved doing arts and crafts of all kinds, and had a flair for artistic design, from flower arranging to jewelry making. She enjoyed crocheting and made blankets for many family members, and charitably donated many Afghans to the Revere Senior Center. She was an excellent bingo caller and player and a masterful card player. She enjoyed many trips to Foxwoods and Plainville casinos with her husband, and generally returned home with more money than she left with, along with many good memories. She also loved to bake and according to her grandchildren made the best chocolate chip cookies ever. She was a former member of the Senior Center in Revere and for the past two years enjoyed her card games with her friends from the Tannery Building who will miss her greatly. Besides her loving husband, she is survived by her three sons, Mathew E. White and his wife Dena of Winthrop, Daniel T. White of Everett, and Charles J. White and his wife Kim of Miami, FL, her daughter, Debra M. White-Stanley and her husband Sam Samuels of Greenfield, her brother Gary and his wife Audrey Mathison of East Boston, her sister Claire and her husband Bob Helfer of Revere, and is also survived by her three grandchildren, Mathew, Connor, and Cody White, as well as her treasured nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her brother and sister-in-law, Don and Gloria Mathison. Her greatest wish was that her family put aside any differences and that this be a “year of forgiveness.” Visiting hours will be held on Tuesday from 5:30 until 7:30 PM at the Conway, Cahill-Brodeur Funeral Home, 82 Lynn St, Peabody followed by a service at 7:30 PM to which relatives and friends are kindly invited to attend. Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation.