Ada Marie Joy

Ada Marie Joy, 91, of Mechanicsville, MD, passed away on December 20, 2024, at St. Mary’s Nursing Home, Leonardtown, MD, surrounded by her loving family. Ada was born on June 12, 1933, in Great Mills, MD, to the late Robert Earl Shepherd and the late Agnes Norris Shepherd Adams. She was a lifelong resident of St. Mary’s County, MD, living in Hollywood, MD, until moving to Mechanicsville, MD in November 2015 to live with her daughter, Diane J. Dixon, who was her primary caregiver until becoming a resident at the St. Mary’s Nursing Center for the additional care she needed in November 2019. On December 6, 1949, she was married to Marion C. Joy, Sr., and together they celebrated over 42 years of marriage until his death on June 9, 1992. On June 16, 2001, Ada was married to Joseph F. Twilley until his death on May 10, 2007. After raising her children at home, Ada began working in the St. Mary’s County Public School System as a cafeteria worker at Esperanza Middle School and Hollywood Elementary School where she decided to pick back up with her education and earned her GED which she was so proud of. She was employed as the housekeeper at Placid Harbor Education and Technology Center in Hollywood, MD. In 1979, Ada began working as a secretary/bookkeeper at Thompson’s Furniture City in Hollywood, MD until her retirement in 1998. Ada loved volunteering and supporting her community. She was the first secretary of the Hollywood Volunteer Rescue Squad Auxiliary, a former member of the Hollywood Volunteer Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary, and once belonged to the Mechanicsville Moose Lodge Ladies Auxiliary. She was a member of the St. John Francis Regis Catholic Parish in Hollywood, MD most of her life until she was not able to attend mass due to her limited mobility. Ada’s many hobbies included playing bingo and playing cards (pitch or rummy); she was an avid reader of books and loved completing word search puzzles. In her earlier years, she was an excellent seamstress, did furniture upholstery, knitting, crocheting, and ceramics for her many family and friends, but her greatest love was spending precious time with her children and grandchildren. Ada is survived by her loving children, Linda L. Gray (Charles) of Lexington Park, MD, Bonnie S. Pineiro (Rafael) of West Palm Beach, FL, Calvin Joy, Jr. (Pattie) of Hollywood, MD, Nancy D. Burroughs of Hollywood, MD, David A. Joy (Inger) of Plattsburg, NY, and Tammy M. Barrows of Callaway, MD, 12 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren, as well as her son-in-law, Bill Dixon, of Mechanicsville, MD and her step-sister, Mary Alma Goddard (Tom), of Piney Point, MD. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her siblings, Robert Earl Shepherd, Thomas Eugene Shepherd, Francis Norris Shepherd, Lewis Theodore Shepherd, Betty Ann Kellam, and daughter, Diane J. Dixon (Bill), of Mechanicsville, MD. The family will receive friends for Ada’s Life Celebration on January 2, 2024, from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM with prayers recited at 7:00 PM in the Mattingley-Gardiner Funeral Home, Leonardtown, MD. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated by Reverend Raymond Schmidt on January 3, 2024, at 10:00 AM at St. John Francis Regis Parish, Hollywood, MD. A private graveside interment service will be held at Charles Memorial Gardens, Leonardtown, MD at a later date. Serving as pallbearers will be her grandsons, Robert Schindler, Brian Stone, Charlie Gray, Mark Joy, Craig Barrows, and Eric Joy. Honorary pallbearers will be her granddaughters, Michele Gray, Nicole Barrows, Jennifer Ransom, Kelly Burroughs, and Madison Combs. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Hollywood Volunteer Fire Department, the Hollywood Volunteer Rescue Squad, or St. John Francis Regis Catholic Parish, Hollywood, MD. Arrangements provided by the Mattingley-Gardiner Funeral Home, Leonardtown, MD. Condolences may be made to the family at www.mgfh.com.