Joyce Chacon

Joyce (Cody) Chacon

March 12, 1939 – May 3, 2026

Joyce Chacon (née Cody), a deeply compassionate nurse and a devoted mother, passed away on May 3, 2026, at the age of 87.

Born Joyce Cody on March 12, 1939, in Astoria, Queens, New York, she was an only child who grew up with an abundance of determination and a dream of building a large family of her own. Her dedication was evident early on; she traveled on two buses and a train every day from Astoria to the Upper East Side of Manhattan to attend the private and exclusive all-girls Julia Richman High School. After graduating at the young age of 17, she pursued her calling to care for others at Flower Fifth Avenue Hospital’s nursing school in East Harlem. She absolutely loved nursing school and proudly graduated at the top of her class in 1957.

That same year, a fateful trip to Jones Beach changed the course of her life. Joyce and her girlfriends had thoughtfully packed a basket full of sandwiches and snacks for the day. Nearby was Louis F. Chacon and his friends, who had only managed to bring a cooler of beer. When Louis asked Joyce if she would trade a sandwich for a beer, a beautiful lifelong romance began. The two were married in the middle of a blizzard on February 8, 1958.

Joyce and Louis wasted no time building the large family she had always wanted. Over the next seven years, they welcomed four children: Louis, Karen, Bobby, and Diane. Though she originally hoped for six children, they ultimately decided four was the perfect number.

Joyce transformed their house into a loving, bustling home—not just for her own children, but for everyone in the neighborhood. She was the kind of mother who always had room at the dinner table for extra friends, enthusiastically hosted weekend sleepovers, lovingly took in stray dogs, and always allowed her children to bring friends along on family vacations. Her door, and her heart, were always open.

As wonderful as she was as a mother, Joyce found even greater joy in being a Grandma and more recently a great gandma. She was her grandchildren’s biggest cheerleader, relishing every moment spent attending their sporting events, clapping at their concerts, and bringing the whole family together for lively cookouts.

Beyond her family, Joyce’s identity was deeply rooted in her lifelong passion for nursing. Both at work and at home, she was the person everyone came to for answers and comfort. She was incredibly hardworking, profoundly kind, and lived her life in a way that inspired everyone around her to be better, work harder, and care deeper.

Joyce was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Louis, who passed away in 2009, and her eldest son, Lou, who passed away in 2025. She is survived by her children, Karen, Bobby, and Diane; her grandchildren who were the light of her life: Nikki, Danielle, Brian, Hayley, and Melanie; and her four great-grandchildren: Chayton, Blake, Kora, and Dakota. She leaves behind a legacy of unparalleled warmth, a fierce dedication to her loved ones, and a lifetime of caring for others.