Kathleen M. "Kay" (Joyce) McNamara

Kathleen M. “Kay” (Joyce) McNamara, of Waltham, formerly of Somerville, died Thursday, August 21, 2025 at Sancta Maria Nursing Facility in Cambridge. She was 94.

Kay was born in Jamaica Plain on December 23, 1930, one of eight children of Galway, Ireland natives Michael and Mary (Mellett) Joyce. Raised in Jamaica Plain she graduated from Saint Thomas Aquinas High School. Later in life she earned an associate’s degree from Fisher Junior College in Boston.

Following her marriage to Cambridge native Raymond J. McNamara, the couple lived in Brighton for a time before moving to Somerville in 1968 where they made their home on Curtis Avenue. Six years after Ray’s death in June, 2000 she moved to Waltham.

Until her retirement Kay worked as an administrative assistant at Youville Hospital in Cambridge.

Long active in the communities where she lived, Kay had belonged to the Parkway Seniors in West Roxbury, the Arlington Catholic Women’s Club and in Waltham at Saint Mary’s Parish and the Waltham Senior Center where her affable and friendly nature earned her many friends.

She leaves her children, Kathleen M. ‘Kathi” McNamara of Plymouth, Maureen F. Zuccaro and Daniel F. McNamara and wife Susan, all of Lexington; her grandchildren, Thomas M. ‘T.J.’ McNamara, Jr., Erin Nestor, Brendan Cloherty, Molly O’Donnell, Daniel Zuccaro, Paige, Timothy, Richard and Douglas McNamara; her great-grandchildren, Logan and Landon Nestor; her sisters, Margaret “Peggy” Dolbeare of Franklin, New Hampshire and Geraldine “Gerri” McCarthy and husband James of Falmouth; her sister-in-law, Karin Joyce of Arlington and many cherished nieces, nephews and their families.

In addition to her husband Ray, she was predeceased by her son, Thomas M. McNamara and daughter-in-law Annemarie; her grandsons, Brian Cloherty and Rudy Zuccaro; her siblings, Mary Collins and husband Wally, AnnaMae Dougherty, Joseph Joyce, Eileen “Patsy” Duggan and husband Bill, and Thomas Joyce and wife Hannah; her brother-in-law, Francis McNamara; and her special cousin, Margaret “Peggy” Sheehan and husband Ed.

Family and friends will honor and remember Kay’s life by gathering for an Afternoon Wake in The Joyce Funeral Home, 245 Main Street (Rte. 20), Waltham on Sunday, August 24th from 2 to 5 p.m. and will conclude with a Funeral Service at 5 p.m. Burial in Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne will be private.

Memorial donations may be made to ‘Bedford VA’, VA Bedford Healthcare System, CDCE (135), 200 Springs Road, Bedford, MA 01730 or to the Waltham Council on Aging, 488 Main Street, Waltham, MA 02452. Kay’s family is especially grateful to the care staff and nurses at Sancta Maria for their care, comfort and safety provided to her at her home away from home on the third floor.