Obituary of Joy Elizabeth Hennessey

Joy Elizabeth (Moore) Hennessey

November 7, 1932 ­­– September 1, 2021

Joy Elizabeth Hennessey, 88, of Quakertown, Pa, died quietly at home on September 1, 2021.

Born November 7, 1932 in Philadelphia, Pa., she was the daughter of the late Richard John and the late Carrie May (Clayton) Moore.

Joy was a graduate of Springfield High School Class of 1950 and a longtime resident of Flourtown, Pa. She married William John (Bill) Hennessey on November 21, 1953. Before marriage, she worked as a secretary in Philadelphia and later for 17 years at the Flourtown Kmart store.

Joy was a homemaker extraordinaire and there is no doubt her greatest pleasure was presiding over the small house in Flourtown where she and Bill raised their six children. The door was always unlocked and everyone was welcome in Joy’s kitchen, night or day. Generations of friends, family, neighbors and particularly Joy’s children and their friends, gathered there to consume many gallons of iced tea, hundreds of strawberry shortcakes and endless batches of homemade everything, most of which came from Bill’s garden and orchard. In addition to food and drink, she dished out heaps of understanding and patient kindness.

Along with her husband, Joy also liked to entertain on a large scale and for many years they threw an annual summer picnic complete with food, games, live music, fireworks and well over 100 guests. Joy and Bill enjoyed spending time and traveling with lifelong friends made in high school: Henry and Martha Gally, Roland and Marilyn Pearl, Jack and Norma Lugar, Ed and Joan Chassey and Bob and Nancy Price.

After Bill’s death in 1982, Joy continued traveling with friends. She ventured to many places in the U.S., Canada, Britain and the Caribbean.

An accomplished crafter, sewer, knitter and quilter, she enjoyed working with her hands to create useful things. At the height of her output, she made by hand her daughter Patricia’s wedding gown and dresses for each of the bridesmaids, and many years later, altering Patti’s wedding gown so her daughter, Riann, could wear it on her wedding day. In the early 1980s, she made herself briefly well-known in Bondville, Vt. by custom making Western-style shirts with extensive hand stitching for much of the staff at the Red Fox Inn, where her son Michael worked. Over the years, each of her children and grandchildren received a hand-sewn quilt and a unique hand-knit Santa Claus Christmas stocking with an Angora fur beard.

Joy had a big heart for animals, too. As a child she had horses and other farm animals, including a mean goat named Billy. All her life, in quiet moments, she had a dog by her side and a cat on her lap. She took in and cared for many dogs and cats, a few chickens, some rabbits and begrudgingly, only because of her children, a bunch of reptiles and amphibians.

Her final years were spent in Quakertown, Pa. with her daughter Karen and granddaughter Kacey.

In addition to her parents and beloved husband, she was preceded in death by her eldest daughter, Patricia Ann (Hennessey) Caul.

She is survived by her children, Richard J. and his wife, Beth, of Deering, NH; Michael R. of Sellersville, PA; Karen E. of Quakertown, PA; Nancy J. Nassar and her husband, Dave, of Tylersport, PA; and Christopher and his wife, Tina, of State College, PA; her grandchildren, Matthew Caul, Riann Caul, Russell Hennessey and his wife, Jessica, Caitlin Hennessey, Patricia Hennessey, William Hennessey, David Nassar and Kacey Hennessey; great-grandchildren, Aydin Lauer, Devlynne Lauer, Fyrn Lauer, Braydon Caul, Savannah Joy Caul and Alexandria Hennessey; and her sister, Carol M. Newman of Wrightstown, NJ.

Her Graveside Service and Interment will be on Saturday October 2, 2021 at 10:00 AM

At George Washington Memorial Park, 100 Stenton Avenue and Butler Pike, Plymouth Meeting, Pa 19462.

Memorial donations in Joy’s name may be made to: Bucks County SPCA, P.O. Box 277, Lahaska, PA 18931.

Arrangements by Moore, Snear & Ruggiero Funeral Home, 300 Fayette Street, Conshohocken, PA, (610) 828-0330.
www.msrfh.com.