Joyce Sherman Roche

Joyce Sherman Roche Portsmouth, - Joyce Sherman Roche, 81, of 18 South Drive, Portsmouth, died Saturday, July 24, 2004, at the Grand Islander Health Care Center, Middletown, RI.She was the wife of George Dewick Roche Sr. Born in Portsmouth, RI, on August 1, 1922, she was the daughter of the late Arthur Almy and Ethelind Dean Bliss Sherman. Mrs. Roche was a lifelong resident of Portsmouth. She had worked as a title examiner for several Rhode Island Attorneys for over 30 years, retiring in 1999. Mrs. Roche had served as the Deputy Town Clerk for the Town of Portsmouth from 1969-1979. Prior to that she had worked in the canvassers office for the Town of Portsmouth. Mrs. Roche was a member of St. Marys Episcopal Church in Portsmouth. She was a direct descendent of Benedict Arnold, the first Governor of Rhode Island, and Philip Sherman, the first Secretary of the Colony and one of the original purchasers of Aquidneck Island. Besides her husband she is survived by a son George Dewick ?Dewey? Roche Jr. of Portsmouth, RI, four daughters Shirley Roche Mello of Middletown, RI, Suzanne Sherman Sousa of Tiverton, RI, Syndee Roche Schaeffer of Portsmouth, RI, and Stefani Roche Dondero of Portsmouth, RI, ten grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. She was the sister of the late Benjamin Clarke Sherman and Hope Howland Smith, and grandmother of the late George ?Gig? Dewick Roche III.Her funeral will be held on Thursday, July 29, 2004, at 10:00AM, in St. Marys Episcopal Church, 324 East Main Road, Portsmouth. Burial will be private.Memorial donations may be made in her memory to Diabetes Foundation Of Rhode Island, 1007 Waterman Avenue, East Providence, RI, 02914, or to the American Heart Association, New England Affiliate, 20 Speen Street, Framingham, MA, 01701-4688.