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Person

Alice "Joy" Green

Also Mrs. Joy Green · Joy Green · Alice Joy Green · Alice Joy McDonough · McDonough; formerly Alice Joy McDonough

Draft — sources verified, prose evolving

TypePerson
Born1932-11-04
Died2007-10-30
WithinBeaver Island
ErasModern era
On this page
Person
Born
1932-11-04
Died
2007-10-30
Work
Registered nurse (Mercy Central School of Nursing, Grand Rapids) · Owner-operator · Treasurer, Beaver Island Civic Association · President, Holy Cross Altar Society (also elected 1977) · Chairman, Beaver Island Cancer Drive (documented 1965-2007) · Member, Beaver Island School Board · Chairman, Holy Cross Cemetery
Spouse
person/russell-j-green
Member of
Beaver Island Civic Association · Holy Cross Catholic Church · Beaver Island Community School
Eras
Modern era
Concepts
communityhealthcareheritageeconomyreligion
Within
Beaver Island

Summary

Alice Joy (McDonough) Green (4 November 1932 – 30 October 2007) was a Beaver Island-born registered nurse, baker, and civic officer. Trained at Mercy Central School of Nursing in Grand Rapids, she assisted island doctors with deliveries at the Medical Center from the late 1950s. She served as Civic Association treasurer and board member through the 1960s and 1970s, was twice elected president of the Holy Cross Altar Society, chaired the island’s annual Cancer Drive for more than four decades, and owned and operated Joy Green Bakery. She married Russell J. Green on Beaver Island on 15 September 1956 and was the mother of eight children.

History

Nurse, wife, and mother

Beacon items from 1961 name “Joy Green” among “the Beaver Island nurses” serving alongside Skip McDonough and Lillian Cole, and repeatedly describe her assisting Drs. Haynes and Christie at Medical Center deliveries.123 Her own obituary states she graduated from Mercy Central School of Nursing in Grand Rapids and became a Registered Nurse who “assisted Island doctors with many deliveries.”4 An October 2008 Beacon retrospective, describing events roughly thirty years earlier, records her attending her nursing school class’s 25th reunion with Skip McDonough and three other island nurses, placing her graduating class around 1953.5 On November 6, 1962, she voted in the general election and, the same day, “delivered a real fine, red-headed” daughter, Anne Marie, with her husband Russell experiencing “mixed emotions” over the new daughter and the election result.6 She and Russell J. Green married on Beaver Island September 15, 1956, and celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary at their island home on July 7, 2006.74

Civic Association and Altar Society offices

Joy Green served as Civic Association treasurer across multiple years in the 1960s, including 1962, 1963, and 1964, and continued on its board of directors into the 1970s.89 She was a girls’-club leader in the early 1960s alongside Mary Minor and Skip McDonough.10 She was elected president of the Holy Cross Altar Society on January 12, 1971, and again in January 1977, and served as its vice president in other years.11 Her 2007 obituary additionally lists her as a member of the Beaver Island School Board and as “chairman of the Holy Cross Cemetery.”4

Cancer Drive chairman

Beacon notices document Joy Green chairing Beaver Island’s annual American Cancer Society drive from at least May 1965 — when the party raised $153.00 — through the 1970s, with totals of $121.00 (1966), $138.80 (1967), $166.00 (1969), $229.00 (1972), $267.75 (1973), $412.54 (1974), and $500.00 in May 1977, reported as “more than it has ever been in the past.”12 A May 2007 Beacon item reports her still announcing a Cancer Drive total over $500 that year, five months before her death — a documented span of more than forty years chairing the same island fundraiser.13

Bakery business

By October 1971, classified advertisements in the Beacon offered fruit cakes “baked on Beaver Island in the ovens of Joy Green,” mailed from Box 9, St. James, and running in Beacon issues at least through November 1973.14 A May 1990 classified headed “Joy Green Baked Goods” shows the business still operating nearly two decades later, consistent with her obituary’s statement that she “owned and operated her own business, Joy Green Bakery, supplying homemade breads, pies and doughnuts to local stores and restaurants for many years.”154

Family

A December 1992 Beacon profile of Archie LaFreniere names his sister “Eva [who] married Lloyd [McDonough]” and states that their “daughter Joy Green and daughter-in-law Skip McDonough live on the Island” – confirming, from a source independent of either woman’s own obituary, that Joy Green was the daughter of Lloyd and Eva (LaFreniere) McDonough and the sister-in-law of Skip McDonough, who had married her brother Joseph L. “Bud” McDonough.16

Community roles and death

In June 1978, Joy Green was among the islanders, led by Father Alvin Yard, who greeted Nobel Peace Prize co-laureate Mairead Corrigan on her visit to the island.17 She died at her home on Beaver Island on October 30, 2007, at 74. Her obituary names her parents as Lloyd and Eva (LaFreniere) McDonough; her husband, Russell; her eight children; and “special neighbor and friend, Skip McDonough.” It states she was predeceased by brothers Bud and Bruce McDonough and sister Vera Wojan. Visitation and the Rosary were held at Holy Cross Church; the Rite of Christian Burial was November 3, with burial at Holy Cross Cemetery.4

Significance

Joy Green is documented across five decades of Beaver Island newspaper notices as a registered nurse assisting at Medical Center deliveries, a Civic Association and Altar Society officer, a small-business baker, and the island’s Cancer Drive chairman for more than forty years — one of the longest single-cause tenures documented among the island’s civic figures.

Open questions

  • A December 1992 Beacon family profile independently resolves this: it identifies Joy Green as the daughter of Lloyd and Eva (LaFreniere) McDonough and Skip McDonough as their daughter-in-law, confirming that the “Bud McDonough” named as Joy Green’s predeceased brother in her obituary is the same Joseph L. “Bud” McDonough married to Skip McDonough, and that the two women were sisters-in-law.
  • No source read here states the exact founding date of Joy Green Bakery or when it closed.
  • The 1962-born daughter Anne Marie is not among the children named as survivors in the 2007 obituary; no source read here explains the discrepancy, and this article does not speculate.

See also

Sources

See the sources: block above for full citation and provenance detail.

Footnotes

  1. Beaver Beacon, February 1961. ↩

  2. Beaver Beacon, April 1963, “Stork Race Ends.” ↩

  3. Beaver Beacon, January 1966. ↩

  4. “Joy Green 1932-2007,” Beaver Beacon, December 2007. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  5. Beaver Beacon, October 2008, “Thirty Years Ago.” ↩

  6. Beaver Beacon, November 1962, “We Got the Vote Out.” ↩

  7. Beaver Beacon, June 2006. ↩

  8. Beaver Beacon, January 1962 and January 1964. ↩

  9. Beaver Beacon, February 1963. ↩

  10. Beaver Beacon, February and March 1963. ↩

  11. Beaver Beacon, January 1971 and January 1977, “Altar Society Election.” ↩

  12. Beaver Beacon, May 1965, May 1966, April 1967, May 1969, May 1972, June 1973, May 1974, and May 1977, Cancer Drive/Cancer Party result notices. ↩

  13. Beaver Beacon, May 2007. ↩

  14. Beaver Beacon, October-November 1971 through November 1973, classified advertising. ↩

  15. Beaver Beacon, May 1990, “Joy Green Baked Goods.” ↩

  16. Beaver Beacon, December 1992, “Happy 80th Birthday, Archie LaFreniere!”. ↩

  17. Beaver Beacon, June 1978, “Island Lures Peace Prize Winner.” ↩

Kin

This articleAlice"Joy" Green1932 – 2007This articleperson/russell-j-green
Only relations stated in the sources are drawn; absence means unrecorded, not childless or unmarried.

The dated record

7 dated events · 1932–2007These years on the timeline →

Sources

  1. Names Mrs. Joy Green in connection with the $229 Beaver Island Cancer Drive total and a thank-you to participants; it gives no office, biography, or complete identity record.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1972-05_Beaver-Beacon
  2. The held eight-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1972-05_Beaver-Beacon
  3. Advertises two-pound fruitcakes baked on Beaver Island by Joy Green for Christmas delivery; it does not establish a bakery business or fulfillment record.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1973-09_Beaver-Beacon
  4. The held eleven-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the combined September–October publication; it does not expand the published source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1973-09_Beaver-Beacon
  5. Names Joy Green as Cancer Drive chairman and reports a $412.54 total with her thanks to island residents; it does not provide a donor list, receipts, or organizational office record.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1974-05_Beaver-Beacon
  6. The held eleven-page combined May–June issue scan is paired with the OCR source stored under the archive 1974-05 key and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1974-05_Beaver-Beacon
  7. Lists Joy Green among the Civic Association directors elected January 4; it supplies no term, vote total, or complete identity record.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1962-01_Beaver-Beacon
  8. The held five-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1962-01_Beaver-Beacon
  9. Lists Alice “Joy” (McDonough) Green (1932–2007), spouse of Russell J. Green. A 1966 Beacon notice names Russ and Joy Green together at their home, providing the spouse/name bridge; the cemetery gives only years.
  10. Names Joy Green as the contact for the planned December progressive holiday dinner parties. It does not establish an organizing office, hosts, or completed events. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1975-11_Beaver-Beacon
  11. The held issue confirms the contact notice.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1975-11_Beaver-Beacon
  12. The issue reports the 1976 drive’s $267.50 total and thanks contributors. It does not name Joy Green as organizer in the notice; the event link is retained as a cautious continuity lead from her prior drive work, not as a new office claim. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1976-02_Beaver-Beacon
  13. The held issue confirms the result notice.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1976-02_Beaver-Beacon
  14. Names Joy Green as Beaver Island chair of the American Cancer Crusade. It does not establish the final 1976 result or a separate legal organization. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1976-03_Beaver-Beacon
  15. The held issue confirms the chair notice.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1976-03_Beaver-Beacon
  16. Reports Joy Green announcing the $427.00 annual Cancer Drive total and thanking participants. It does not supply a donor list or audited account. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1976-05_Beaver-Beacon
  17. The held combined issue confirms the result notice.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1976-05_Beaver-Beacon
  18. Beaver Beacon, December 2007, "Joy Green 1932-2007" obituary.
    Full obituary: Alice Joy Green, 74, of Beaver Island, died Tuesday, October 30, 2007, at her home on Beaver Island; born November 4, 1932, on Beaver Island to Lloyd and Eva (LaFreniere) McDonough; graduated Beaver Island high school, then Mercy Central School of Nursing in Grand Rapids, becoming a Registered Nurse who "assisted Island doctors with many deliveries"; owned and operated Joy Green Bakery, supplying homemade breads, pies, and doughnuts to local stores and restaurants "for many years"; was a member of the Beaver Island School Board and the Holy Cross Altar Society, and was "chairman of the Holy Cross Cemetery"; married Russell J. Green on Beaver Island September 15, 1956; survived by her husband and children Michael (Kitty McNamara) Green, Mary Delamater, Bernadette (Dave) Cole, Rose (John) Peters, Kathleen (Dana) Dvoracek, Beth Anne (Steve) Lucas, Kevin (Snowe) Green, and Amy Bair, seventeen grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and "special neighbor and friend, Skip McDonough"; predeceased by brothers Bud and Bruce McDonough and sister Vera Wojan. Visitation and the Rosary were at Holy Cross Church; the Rite of Christian Burial was November 3, Rev. Patrick Cawley officiating; burial followed at Holy Cross Cemetery. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 2007-12_Beaver-Beacon
  19. Names "Joy Green" treasurer of the Beaver Island Civic Association board for 1963, under president Joseph "Bud" McDonough, alongside a separate club table naming "Mrs. Joy Green" president (club name not given in the excerpted item).
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1963-02_Beaver-Beacon
  20. Reports that Joy Green voted on election day and, the same day, delivered "a real fine, red-headed" daughter, Anne Marie; names the father as Russell.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1962-11_Beaver-Beacon
  21. Reports Joy Green elected president of the Holy Cross Altar Society on January 12, 1971 (with Madonna McCafferty vice-president, Jo Carlisle secretary, Skip McDonough treasurer); the January 1977 issue reports her election to the same office again.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1971-01_Beaver-Beacon
  22. A recurring annual notice, under titles including "Cancer Party" and "Cancer Drive," names Joy Green as chairman and reports yearly totals rising from $153.00 (May 1965) through $500.00 (May 1977), the largest reported "in the past." A May 2007 Beacon item, not separately cited here in full, reports her still announcing a Cancer Drive total of over $500 that year.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1965-05_Beaver-Beacon
  23. Recurring classified advertisements offer fruit cakes "baked on Beaver Island in the ovens of Joy Green," mailed to Box 9, St. James, at prices ranging from $4.50 plus postage; the weight sold decreases from three pounds (1971) to two pounds (1973).
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1971-10_Beaver-Beacon
  24. Names Mrs. Joy Green among the Islanders, led by Father Alvin Yard, who greeted Nobel Peace Prize co-laureate Mairead Corrigan on her June 3, 1978 visit to Beaver Island. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1978-06_Beaver-Beacon
  25. Beaver Beacon, June 2006, 50th wedding anniversary announcement.
    Announces that the children of Russell and Joy Green would celebrate their parents' 50 years of marriage at their Beaver Island home on July 7, 2006, consistent with the 2007 obituary's September 15, 1956 marriage date. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 2006-06_Beaver-Beacon
  26. Beaver Beacon, October 2008, "Thirty Years Ago" retrospective.
    Reports that "Joy Green, Skip McDonough, Ruth Nackerman, Maria Boyle, and Lil Cole took part in their Mercy Central School of Nursing's 25th reunion" about thirty years before publication (circa 1978), corroborating her nursing-school identity from the 2007 obituary and dating her class to roughly 1953. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 2008-10_Beaver-Beacon
  27. A classified advertisement headed "Joy Green Baked Goods" shows the bakery still operating in 1990, extending the business's documented run well past the 1971-1973 fruit-cake classifieds; it does not itself list products or prices. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1990-05_Beaver-Beacon
  28. A LaFreniere-family profile states that Archie LaFreniere's sister "Eva married Lloyd [McDonough] (daughter Joy Green and daughter-in-law Skip McDonough live on the Island)" -- independently identifying Joy Green as the daughter of Lloyd and Eva (LaFreniere) McDonough and Skip McDonough as their daughter-in-law, which resolves whether Joy Green's obituary-named brother "Bud McDonough" is the same man married to Skip McDonough: he is, making the two women sisters-in-law. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1992-12_Beaver-Beacon

Added 1 August 2026 · revised 5 August 2026. Recent changes

Cite this article

Beaver Island Archive, “Alice "Joy" Green”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/people/alice-joy-green/, accessed [date], citing Beaver Beacon, May 1972, “Cancer Drive Results.” (and 27 further sources listed on the page).

Last revised 2026-08-05. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.

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