CAPE ELIZABETH — Joyce C. Beecher, 85, died peacefully Nov. 6.

She was born on Nov. 22, 1927, in Calais, to Francis J. and Ferne Flemming McNamara. She grew up in Calais, attended local schools, graduating from Ellsworth High School in 1946. After graduation, she married and moved to South Portland.

Beecher was employed at Prosperity Co. and Guy Gannett Publishing Co. before beginning her successful 40-year career in real estate. She joined the sales force at the Beecher Agency real estate firm in South Portland in 1962 and went on to open her own agency, Joyce Beecher Realty, which she owned and operated for several years. She continued in real estate working for the Vera Bubier Agency and Tinsman Real Estate until her retirement.

Her true passion was golf, and she was a gifted player. Her career spanned 25 years, and began when, at the age of 25, she joined Purpoodock Country Club. She won 20 consecutive club championships, and went on to win another, for a total of 21, the record number of individual championship wins at Purpoodock.

In addition, Beecher was four times a finalist in the Women’s Maine State Golf Championship, held low gross in the state for many years, and represented Maine in the Tri State Women’s Tournament multiple times in the No. 1 position. She set the club’s golf record for women in 1957, and won four Al Baka trophies. She also was instrumental in establishing the Southern Maine Women’s Golf Association, and was the Southern Maine Women’s Golf champion in 1978.

Beecher’s athleticism was not limited to the golf course. Always active until her later years, she will be remembered as an avid sportswoman and outdoor enthusiast who was eager to share her interests. She especially enjoyed skiing, bowling, camping, fishing, rock-climbing, boating and motorcycling. She loved winters in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., where she enjoyed fishing, boating and entertaining friends and family.

She also was a talented oil painter, and had a great appreciation for poetry. Holiday gatherings will be remembered for her spirited readings of “The Highwayman,” by Alfred Noyes, and “The Rainy Day,” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, whose words are inscribed on her headstone.

She was predeceased by her parents and her brother, William McNamara and wife Lois.

She is survived by her daughter, Lynn Carr, of South Portland; two granddaughters, Jennifer Caswell and Tracy George, and their husbands, Claude and Shawn; four great-grandchildren, Chloe, Esther, Elijah and Ezra; nephew, Michael McNamara and wife, Patricia, of Cape Elizabeth; and niece, Sue Clark and husband Arnold, of Calais. 

Upon her request, there will be no formal service or public viewing. 

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