Joyce M. Balboni, 64, Ran From the Heart Boutique

Joyce May Balboni of Oak Bluffs died Sunday, Sept. 10. She was 64.

Joyce was predeceased by her beloved mother, Mary Lewis Goode, father Milton Goode and brother Steven Goode.

She was born April 12, 1942. She was in the first graduating class at the Martha's Vineyard Regional High School and spent her early school years at the Oak Bluffs School, where she formed true and lifelong friendships. After high school, Joyce worked at the Hartford Insurance Company, where she met her husband, John W. Balboni. She traveled to Europe and spent a year in Germany, where she immersed herself in the art, language and culture. Joyce spent several years as a teacher's aide with developmentally challenged children.

In 1964, Joyce and John married and settled in Glastonbury, Conn., and soon began their family. Joyce was an extraordinary mother and grandmother. Her dedication to family and friends made her life full and blessed. The family lived in several locations including Franklin, Murray Hill, N.J., and West Hartford, Conn. But the Vineyard was always a home base where perfect Island summers were spent next door to her mother, cousins and childhood friends. After John retired they settled on the Island. Joyce's home has always been a gathering place for family and friends.

In 1991 Joyce and her lifelong friend, Judy Williamson, began the From the Heart art gallery and boutique on Oak Bluffs harbor. It was a joyful and successful business, and it thrived with the help of husbands John and Peter and their families. Many wonderful friendships were created with customers and artists, and it was often said that it was a place of beauty, warmth, welcome and joy. It was a labor of love for six years, but as weddings occurred and grandchildren multiplied, the calling of grandmotherhood was most important, and so the business was sold to a family friend.

In recent years, Joyce had rekindled her passion for painting. She strived to convey the feeling of the Island and its natural beauty, painting with boldness, color, light and a sense of peace. She loved learning, experimenting and painting with her artisan friends.

Joyce was faith filled and a member of the Good Shepherd Parish and lived her faith by giving to her community. She was a volunteer in the gift shop at the Martha's Vineyard Hospital and taught an art class at Windemere Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. She was on the fund-raising committee of Hospice of Martha's Vineyard and each year was instrumental in making the Reflections of Peace hospice concert as beautiful as it is at the Our Lady Star of the Sea church.

She is survived by her beloved husband of 42 years, John W. Balboni; her daughter, Jessica, and her husband, Milton, and their children, Christine Marie and Grace Marie Gonzalez of San Juan, Puerto Rico; her son, Jonathan, and his wife, Brenda, and their children, John, Joseph, Amanda and Victoria Balboni of Springfield, N.J.; her daughter, Jennifer, and her husband, Brian, and their children, Alison Mary and Sarah May Tracey; and her son, Jason, and his wife, Veronica, and their son, Colby, and step-children, Devin and Eva Balboni.

Funeral services have been held. Donations in her memory may be made to Martha's Vineyard Visiting Nurse Service, P.O. Box 2568, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557 or to Hospice of Martha's Vineyard, P.O. Box 2549, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557. Visit ccgfuneralhome.com for online guest book.