Obituary: Joyce R. Lawrence
September 2, 1931 – February 6, 2026
March 9, 2026
Joyce Robinson Lawrence, age 94, passed away on February 6, 2026, at Woodridge Rehab & Nursing in Berlin, Vermont. She was born in Stowe, Vermont, on September 2, 1931, the daughter of the late Marjorie (Hall) and Kenneth Robinson. She married her sweetheart, the late Theodore E Lawrence, on May 31, 1953. Joyce was the mother of three boys: James, the late Brian, and Kent Lawrence. Joyce was very proud of being a native Vermonter and very knowledgeable of Stowe history.
As a young girl, Joyce was an only child and thought of her neighbor Charlene as a sister. Joyce also played with the younger two Von Trapp girls either at her house or the original Von Trapp Lodge, being built by her father, a crew, and the Baron.
Joyce went to school for 12 years in Stowe and graduated from Stowe High School in 1949 with eight classmates. She believed she was the last of the class alive. Joyce went and graduated from Becker College in Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1951.
Joyce was a member of the Waterbury Congregational Church and the Stowe Community Church, singing in the choir and as a soloist in both churches throughout her life. She also went to the First Congregational Church of North Hyde Park later on. Joyce had a high soprano voice that she sang to the hills of Vermont. She served as a Cub Scout den mother for Waterbury when her boys were that age and also as secretary for the Cub Scouts.
She was a lifetime member of The Order of the Eastern Star of Vermont, belonging to Queen Esther Chapter #7 in Waterbury and Sickle Chapter #34 OES. The positions she held included Worthy Matron, Past Matron, Esther, Secretary, and other Star Points. During her time in the OES, Joyce traveled with many OES friends on short and long trips, including to California, Las Vegas and Canada. Joyce was also secretary of Charlotte Morris Association until 2009; a member of the Grand Representatives Association of Vermont, Green Mountain Deputies Association, Past Patrons Club of Queen Esther, Copley Hospital Auxiliary and gift shop volunteer, and a member of the Stowe Historical Society.
Traveling was something Joyce enjoyed tremendously. She went to Scotland to visit a longtime pen pal, and they had such a good time that the pen pal later visited Vermont and Joyce then went a second time to Scotland. She also visited her boys' homes.
As a teenager, Joyce worked at the Octagon Restaurant at Mt. Mansfield Resort. Later, she worked as a medical secretary for a two-doctor office in Rutland, Vermont. The family moved to Waterbury, Vermont, where Joyce first worked in a doctor's office and later worked at WDEV as a receptionist while the three boys were growing up. In 1974, the Lawrence family home was inherited by Ted and Joyce. Along with Kent, the three of them moved to Stowe. Joyce started working at the Garland Insurance Agency and later at the Union Bank as a teller, retiring in 1992. She also worked part-time for the village auditor and then for the Town of Stowe as a town auditor.
Joyce was very proud of her two oldest sons, James and Brian, for serving in the United States Air Force.
Joyce leaves behind her two sons, James and Linda Lawrence, Kent and Elaine Lawrence; grandsons Randall and Jessica Lawrence, Steven and Jenny Lawrence; granddaughters Netha Lawrence, Tovah Lawrence and Adam Kilburg, and Katrina James; great-grandchildren Carrington, Christopher and Natasha, Haven, Jace, Alexzander, Finitii, William, and Nicholas, along with many step-grandchildren and step-great-grandchildren, cousins, and friends. She was predeceased by her parents, Kenneth and Marjorie (Hall) Robinson, her husband Theodore E. Lawrence, and her son Brian Lawrence.
Internment will be at the Stowe Riverbank Cemetery in August. In lieu of flowers, please donate to a homeless shelter.