Joan Fischer Boyd

October 13, 1931 – July 12, 2026

Joan Fischer Boyd, 94, died peacefully at Brookhaven at Lexington in Massachusetts on Sunday, July 12. She leaves behind a family she loved without reserve and a world she never tired of studying, questioning and exploring.

Joan was born on October 13, 1931, the only daughter of Fred and Dorothy Fischer; later she was older sister to Richard. As a young woman growing up in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, she evinced profound curiosity and determination. She had no doubt she would go to college, despite her parents not having a university degree. In 1953, she graduated with a degree in psychology from Pennsylvania College for Women (now Chatham University), where she sat on just about every committee imaginable. Her senior yearbook described her as a "humanist with a scientific outlook," quick with a smile and possessing "tailored tastes."

She was a lifelong learner, devoted to pursuing curiosity at every step. And how many steps there were! Upon graduation, she headed to Santa Monica, California, for a brief experience as a secretary for Hughes Aircraft. On June 23, 1956, she married Arthur Dean Boyd in Pittsburgh. This love carried both of them through the span of their lives. Following the path of Art's medical training, they lived in Pittsburgh where she worked for the US Steel Corporation.  Then, they moved first to Baltimore, Maryland, where daughter Karen joined the family, and then to Cincinnati, Ohio, where daughter Kim and son Arthur Jr. arrived. Two years at Norfolk Naval Hospital in Virginia preceded their move to Mamaroneck, New York, where she raised her children and built a community over the next 44 years. She went back to school for a master's in school psychology from Pace University, which she earned in her 40s. At any age, she could be found with her latest book on history, or sociology, or any topic her grandchildren were curious about.

Joan was an ambitious woman born, in some respects, before her time. She made the most of the choices available to her, but those who knew her could easily imagine how she might have flourished in another era. She was a great leader, shepherding to success community projects like the creation of a nursery school, the restoration of the Mamaroneck United Methodist Church and the build-out of the Mamaroneck Harbor Island Playground.

Devotion was a defining quality of Joan's life. She slowed her own college education to help her parents care for her brother, Richard, when he became ill. She gave herself wholeheartedly to Arthur Boyd, her husband of more than 60 years, and to their three children, Karen, Kim and Art. She persevered through the heartbreaking loss of her daughter Karen, who died far too young in 2014. She also poured her love into her grandchildren: Romie, Alexander and Nicholas. She was the glue of every community she was a part of: the Methodist church, the Shoreacres neighborhood, the town of Mamaroneck, the Larchmont Yacht Club, the friends of Little Exuma, the retirees of Brookhaven at Lexington and, of course, her family.

Retirement, for Joan, was not a retreat. She did not merely want to read about the world; she wanted to see and know it. Art and Joan traveled the world together, going on safari in Africa, boating up the Amazon, rounding Cape Horn, island hopping in Indonesia and visiting historic sites across the globe. In her early-80s, she packed up the family home to move to a small apartment in New York City so she could walk in the park, visit museums, and remain close to the art and cultural life she loved. Later, she and Arthur moved to Massachusetts to spend more time with those they loved most.

In their retirement community in Massachusetts, Joan took online courses from Tufts University and could be found hosting lively salons discussing literature and film, and of course pouring healthy servings of Pinot Grigio with dinner. Everyone who experienced her hospitality understood her generosity and warmth. She wrote wonderful letters full of wisdom and her trademark self-deprecating wit.

Joan lived with energy, intellect, humor and heart. She endured life's sorrows without allowing them to extinguish her curiosity or her capacity for joy. She kept reading, writing, questioning, traveling, learning, laughing and loving. She believed there was as much to be gained through a loss as through a win, and that there was no substitute for hard work. And that many things could be better with a Klondike bar.

She was predeceased by her beloved daughter Karen and her husband Arthur. She is remembered with immeasurable love by her two children, Art Boyd and Kim Boyd, her son-in-law Chris Lovett, her daughter-in-law Griet Dehandschutter and her grandchildren Alexander, Romie and Nicholas.

A private family burial is planned in Newton, Massachusetts.

In lieu of flowers, you are invited to remember Joan Fischer Boyd via a donation to the scholarship fund at Chatham University.

Attn: Timothy D. Cross

Office of University Advancement

Chatham University

107 Woodland Road

Pittsburgh, PA 15232