Greenfield, MA – Joyce Marie (LeBeau) Thibodo, 89, of Greenfield, Massachusetts died Friday August 7, 2026, at Bay State Medical Center, two weeks shy of her 90th birthday.
Born in Holyoke on August 21, 1936, Joyce was raised in Easthampton by her parents Albert (Sr), and Mildred (LaRochelle) LeBeau.
After graduating from Easthampton High School in 1954, Joyce worked in Easthampton’s mills before meeting her soulmate, the late Robert Alfred (Bob) “Poppy” Thibodo. Married on Thanksgiving Day 1957, they settled in Northampton and started a family. Joyce enjoyed working at McGrath’s Restaurant in Hatfield, but her calling in life was raising her children and helping raise her grandchildren.
After living for a time in Whately, Joyce and Bob moved to Greenfield in 1995 where they lived happily together, always surrounded by family. After Bob’s untimely death on May 22, 2006, Joyce remained in Greenfield until relocating to Agawam early last year. She wasn’t often alone during the last two decades of her life. Many grandchildren lived with her at one point or another. Her modest condo at Briar Knoll was the home everyone returned to.
Joyce made sure that no one around her ever went hungry, and that everyone felt loved no matter the distance in miles. She never missed a birthday and always sent the perfect card or care package.
Joyce saw God in everyone. A lifelong Catholic, she dedicated herself completely in service to the church and community, especially following her husband’s death, spending countless hours in the adoration chapel at Blessed Sacrament Church, and helping with everything from laundry to sorting canned goods.
She enjoyed board games and card games, word searches and crossword puzzles. She loved watching game shows, especially Jeopardy, but just as often you could find her watching EWTN with rosary beads in her hands.
Joyce adored her family in Florida, driving there many times over the years for visits due to her fear of flying. That fear didn’t stop her from visiting the Catholic shrine at Medjugorje in the former Yugoslavia, a memory she was fond of.
Besides her husband, Bob, Joyce was also predeceased by brother Albert LeBeau Jr, brother Alfred LeBeau Sr, niece Joyce LeBeau, nephew Albert (Joe) LeBeau III, niece Denise LeBeau, nephew Alfred “Bo” LeBeau Jr, and granddaughter Elizabeth Pelletier.
She is survived by daughter Dawn M. (Thibodo) Farquhar (and husband Jim) of Longmeadow, daughter Robin A. (Thibodo) Mizula of Agawam, and son Robert D. Thibodo (and fiancée Sharon Taylor) of Hatfield, sisters Marie Boynton of Greenfield and Anita LaRock of Apopka, Florida, 9 grandchildren, many great and great-great-grandchildren, and many beloved nieces and nephews including Todd “Happy” Boynton of Greenfield, who was like a son to her.
A funeral mass will be held at Blessed Sacrament Church in Greenfield on Saturday September 12 at 11am. Burial at Calvary Cemetery will follow.
Memorial donations can be made to The Food Pantry At The Blessed Trinity Pastoral Center:
https://blessedtrinitygreenfield.org/food-pantry-community-meals
Click here to sign the guest book or honor their memory with flowers, donations, or other heartfelt tributes