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Joyce M. Arentzen passed away peacefully at Smilow Cancer Hospital on Oct. 4. Joyce was born on May 26, 1947, in Brooklyn, New York, to Gus Licata and Lillian (Sabella) Licata, and grew up in Mahwah, New Jersey, where she found the love of her life, Peter Arentzen, as a freshman in high school. They later married and shared 53 loving years together, 45 of them in Guilford, where they raised their two sons Richard and Jamie and thoroughly embraced the small town community through the years.

Family and friends were her greatest joy. Along with her husband and sons, she shared her deep affection with her beloved sister Rosemarie Amoroso of Madison, with whom she spoke daily, and with her niece Janice Rand, her husband Dave, and kids Megan and Tyler of East Haddam. Her grandchildren Nea, Niels, and Enya were a great joy. She loved visiting them and their parents Richard and Tove Ohlander whether they lived in Vermont or Scandinavia. She enjoyed even more when they and/or Jamie would come to Guilford where she would share with them her love of cooking and her numerous Christmas cookie recipes, her glorious garden, the yearly arrival of the ospreys, sunsets, and boating to the Thimble Islands. She experienced much laughter and adventure with her fun-loving friends, sharing meals, playing bridge or bocce, and sailing throughout the Caribbean. She was a proud member of the GYC book club, Shoreline Women Recreating Retirement, and The Guilford Garden Club.

Joyce received a nursing degree at The State University of New York. Upon graduation Joyce commenced a fulfilling career of 39 years as a registered nurse at Yale-New Haven Hospital. She worked at the forefront of cancer treatment innovation at the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit and Hematology Oncology Clinic at Yale-New Haven Hospital. There she found a special place in her heart for all of her patients and coworkers. As a patient herself, she was treated with great professionalism, dignity, and compassion. It was comforting for her to be treated in a place that she often referred to as her second home.

No one could transmit her love to others as directly as Joyce, whether it was with the food that she would prepare, the sage wisdom she would offer with a lack of prejudice, or the warmth and humor that she would exude. When you were with Joyce you felt her pure loving embrace. She lived her life with compassion and purpose. She was selfless without ever giving up her sense of self. No one was a more thoughtful wife, parent, grandparent, sister, family member, or friend.

The family would like to give thanks to the physicians, nurses, and entire staff of Smilow Cancer Hospital for their care and kindness during Joyce’s illness.

Friends were invited to call Oct. 11 at the Guilford Funeral Home, 115 Church St., Guilford. Burial services were private. There was a Memorial Gathering for Joyce at the Guilford Yacht Club on Oct. 12.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to http://www.closertofree.com/honor-a-loved-one.aspx. Scroll down to click Donate Now. Choose your gift amount. Scroll down to check the box for Honor/Memorial information and add Joyce Arentzen’s name.

To share a memory or leave a message of condolence for the family, please visit www.GuilfordFuneralHome.com.