Dorothy Ann (Joyce) Nathan

Dorothy Ann (Joyce) Nathan, 1930-2023 of Sarasota, formerly of Northampton, MA and Falls Church, VA. Adored wife of Hardy L. Nathan (d. 1998); mother of Virginia Haley, Victoria Main and Don Nathan, all of Sarasota, and Chris Nathan, of Naples. She was born in Northampton to Leo F. and Dorothy H. (McKenna) Joyce and graduated from Holyoke, MA High School in 1947. After graduating from Framingham State Teachers College in 1951, she taught at the Bridge Street Elementary School in Northampton. That summer she met Hardy Nathan and within six weeks they were discussing marriage, which took place June 28, 1952 in Holyoke. They loved each other dearly until his death in 1998. Mrs. Nathan was a work-at-home mother and occasional substitute school teacher in Northampton, then resumed full-time teaching at Glen Forest Elementary School in Fairfax County, VA, after the family moved to Falls Church in 1969. She taught until retiring in 1990, after which she and her husband moved to Sarasota. Always a constant reader, in retirement she traveled extensively, was a long-time volunteer at Gulf Gate Public Library and enjoyed the regular get-togethers with her book group. She was a volunteer eucharistic minister at St. Thomas More Catholic Church, enjoyed exercising at the Potter Park YMCA, making brownies for her brother Richard Joyce of Wilbraham, MA and having coffee with Hana Blahacek. Most importantly, she was a loving Nana to Madeline, Danielle, Willa, Michael and Kate as well as Jonathan, Rachel and Natalie, and Great-Nana to Carter and Claire. This outline of her life doesn’t begin to capture the joy and richness she brought to her family, friends, students and so many others. Lastly, Mrs. Nathan’s children are deeply grateful for the extraordinary care and support provided to her and to them by the teams at Poet’s Walk Sarasota and Continuum Hospice Care. A funeral mass will be held on Saturday, April 29, 2023, at 11:00am, at St. Thomas More Catholic Church, 2506 Gulf Gate Drive, Sarasota, FL 34231. In lieu of flowers, a donation may be made in Dorothy’s memory to Face Autism Inc., 5610 74th Place East, Ellenton, FL 34222 www.Face-Autism.org, or the Lupus Research Alliance, 270 Madison Avenue, Suite 300, New York, NY 10016 Https://give.lupusresearch.org/give/123231/#!/donation/checkout

Tributes

Dorothy Ann (Joyce) Nathan

April 16, 2023