Joyce Mary Tilley Baker

BRUNSWICK – Joyce Mary Tilley Baker, 90, formerly of South Freeport, Topsham, and Yarmouth, passed away Friday, April 24, 2020 from congestive heart failure.Joyce put her family first, but once her four children were launched, contributed her time and energy to community organizations in the Freeport area.The third of four children of Arthur Tilley and F. Mary Fortier Tilley, Joyce was born on Feb. 15, 1930, in Tuxedo Park, N.Y., and grew up in nearby Mahwah, N.J. She graduated from Netherwood School for Girls in Rothesay, New Brunswick, Canada (now Rothesay Netherwood School), in 1947, and from Katherine Gibbs Secretarial School in New York City in 1949.Joyce first met her future husband, Wally Baker, on Bustins Island in Maine’s Casco Bay in 1940 when she was 10 and he 13 and reconnected with him there following World War II. They married in 1949 and settled in Simsbury, Conn.In 1969, the family moved to South Freeport, where they owned and operated the Harraseeket Marine Service boatyard and marina until the mid-1980s. Joyce, who had previously worked as a secretary and librarian, provided administrative support to the business. She also returned to school, graduating Magna Cum Laude with a degree in English from the University of Southern Maine in 1977.She became involved with the Freeport Woman’s Club, a service organization and served on the board in various capacities during the 1980s and 90s. An avid walker and reader, she also had an incredible eye for color and a strong artistic sense, which were evident in the quilts she designed and sewed for each of her grandchildren.Joyce was predeceased by her husband, Walton A. Baker, in 2019; and by her brothers, Harold R. Tilley and Donald E. Tilley.She is survived by her sister, Jennifer Douglas of Calgary, Alberta, Canada; her four children, Catherine B. Degnon (Dom Degnon) of Danby, Vt., Timothy W. Baker (Cynthia Robbins) of Freeport, Wendy J. Baker (Grant E. G. Healey) of Monkton, Md., and Faith C. Baker (Robert F. Smith Jr.) of Durham; seven grandchildren, Lyndon C. Cudlitz, Mallory J. Cudlitz, Emma B. Healey, Chase N. Baker, Grant W. Healey, Gordon T. Healey, and Martha C. Delmonaco; and many nieces and nephews.The family will hold a private memorial service at South Freeport Cemetery at a later date.Memorial donations in honor of Joyce Baker may be made toFreeport Community ServicesP.O. Box 119Freeport, ME 04032

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