Westborough – Joan Louise (Shoppe) Ames, 88, of Westborough, passed away peacefully May 22, 2019, in the presence of her loving husband.
She leaves her husband of over 68 years, William T. Ames; a son, W. Thomas Ames Jr. and his wife Priscilla of Uxbridge; a daughter, Alison L. Ames and her husband Robert L. Deschamps Jr. of Augusta, Maine; two grandchildren, Brandon S. Batchelder and his wife Larisa of Vassalboro, Maine and Elizabeth H. Batchelder of Farmingdale, Maine; three great-grandchildren, Dylan T. Batchelder of Portland, Maine, Johnathan W. Batchelder of Vassalboro, Maine, and Kyle R. Bryant of Farmingdale, Maine; two sisters, Sandra L. Trimble and her husband Woodrow of Kensington, Ohio and Sally L. Pappas and her husband Thomas of Kenduskeag, Maine; her brother, Richard; and several nieces, grandnieces, nephews and grandnephews. She was predeceased by her siblings, Herbert S. Shoppe, Lucilla S. Archer, and Linda Mallet.
Joan was born in Bangor, Maine, a daughter of the late Herbert A. Shoppe and Pauline S. (Crossman) Shoppe. She graduated from Bangor High School and was employed as a bank teller at the Eastern Trust & Banking Company until her marriage. She was a long-time Westborough resident, moving to town in 1962.
Joan was a member and past president of the Westborough Women’s Club. She served on the United Fund, Westborough Council on Aging and starting in 1987 she led the “senior walking group” for a period of seven years. For many years she was a volunteer at the Westborough Health Care Center, at the Westborough State Hospital and at the Willows.
While at the Willows she organized a charity knitting club for residents who knitted for our armed services and also provided thousands of warm hats and mittens to local school children. She was also a long-standing member of the Unitarian Universalist Congregational Society of Westborough.
An avid reader, accomplished needlewoman, talented cook and world traveler, she enjoyed spending many summers in Bermuda and Maine.
A memorial service will be held Saturday, June 15, at 2 p.m., in the Unitarian Universalist Congregational Society of Westborough, 64 West Main St., Westborough. A graveside service at Pine Grove Cemetery in Westborough will take place privately with her family. There are no calling hours.
In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be sent to the Memorial Fund of the Unitarian Universalist Congregational Society of Westborough, P O Box 544, Westborough, MA, 01581, please make payable to “UUCSW” and in memo note “Memorial Fund.”
Funeral arrangements are under the care and direction of the Pickering and Son Westborough Funeral Home.
