CARIBOU, Maine – Joyce Wright Holdsworth, 92, died peacefully in her sleep, December 27, 2017, at the Caribou Nursing Home after a period of declining health. Joyce was born in Caribou, Maine, on January 5, 1925, the daughter of Millard and Althea (Argraves) Wright.
Joyce graduated from Caribou High School in 1942. She completed two years at the University of Maine at Orono and the secretarial course at Katherine Gibbs School in Boston, Massachusetts. She began her career as a Civil Servant in the U.S. Air Force in 1955, and served as Secretary to the Wing Commander at Loring Air Force Base for most of her 30 year career. She retired from the Civil Service in 1985.
Joyce spent much of the next 30 years of her retirement caring for her aging parents and their farmhouse in Caribou. Having grown up on her father’s farm in Caribou, she never strayed too far from her country roots, moving just up the road to the home where she lived until just a few months ago. Joyce was always a strong and independent woman. She occasionally traveled to Central and Southern Maine and Southern New England to visit with family and friends. She was a member of the Caribou Universalist Church, as well as the Ladies Auxiliary at the church, where she held various offices, including President.
Joyce was predeceased by her parents, Millard and Althea (Argraves) Wright; her sister, Barbara June Wright of Fairfield, Maine; her daughter, Jane Althea Holdsworth of Newport, Rhode Island; and her husband of 26 years, Arthur S. Holdsworth.
Joyce is survived by two grandsons, Francis (Mico) McGuire of Rutland, Vermont and Edmund (Ted) McGuire and his partner, Micah Salkind of Providence, Rhode Island; a sister, Henrietta Wheeler and her niece, Bonnie Vaughan of Cumberland, Maine; and her stepson, Ghent Holdsworth of Caribou.
In accordance with Joyce’s wishes, there will be no services at this time. A graveside service will be planned for the spring of 2018, at the Evergreen Cemetery in Caribou, where Joyce will be laid to rest. Memories and condolences may be shared at www.lancastermorgan.com
