Joyce Arlene Gilbert

Joyce Arlene Schanbacher Gilbert, of 200 River Road, Mt. Carmel, CT passed away peacefully on March 7, 2015 in her home of over 54 years. Born in Mansfield, PA, Joyce was one of eight children of Orville and Martha Ann Rauscher Schanbacher, her father being the founder/owner of the Mansfield Novelty Company. Joyce received a BA in Education from her hometown college and moved to the Northeast, where she met her husband-to-be N. Charlton Gilbert in 1957. While living in the greater New Haven area, Joyce became greatly involved in volunteer and community service activities, holding board positions in several organizations: The Connecticut Society for the Prevention of Blindness (Chairwoman of The New Haven Pre-School Vision Screening Program, for which she received the Helen Keller award); The New Haven Symphony; The Connecticut Fund for the Environment; and The Peabody Association. Joyce also volunteered in the Peabody Museum Entomology Department for over 30 years, where she assisted resident professors in organizing and cataloging their collections. Joyce leaves two children - Greta Gilbert Edelman and her husband Alan (Mt. Carmel), and Neil Y. Gilbert and his wife Virginia (Falmouth, ME); and three grandchildren - Rachel Edelman, Rebecca Edelman and Christopher Gilbert. She is predeceased by her stepson, Charlton H. Gilbert. Services will be private. All arrangements in care of BEECHER & BENNETT FUNERAL HOME, 2300 Whitney Ave., Hamden. Contributions in her memory may be made to the Mt. Carmel Congregational Church, 3284 Whitney Avenue, Hamden, CT 06518.