Joan Claire (Thomas) Fullam, affectionately known as “Bam Bam,” died at the Melech Hospice House in Temple Terrace, Florida, on May 27, 2019.
Born in Weymouth, Massachusetts, on May 1, 1931, to William and Martha Thomas, she was the oldest of four children raised in Braintree, Massachusetts.
She graduated in 1949 from Braintree High. After becoming an American Airline stewardess in 1952, she fell in love with Lawrence Fullam of Whitestone, New York, at a picnic in Heckscher Park. They married on July 2, 1955, and settled in Southampton Shores at his family’s home on Turtle Cove Drive. They raised their seven children in the close-knit community, where they enjoyed a life of boating, tennis, baseball, and sunbathing. She would often refer to it as “God’s country.”
For 18 years, she was employed by Local 3 of the IBEW Electrical Union, located at the former Bayberry Land in Southampton. Upon retiring, after her husband’s death, she would become a snowbird and spend her winters in Florida, living in a condo complex in Lake Worth. Making lifelong friends, they all share a matching friendship necklace, which she never took off. In 2017, she moved to an assisted living facility near her daughter Judi, outside Tampa. She thrived throughout her time there, participating in all available activities including modeling in a fashion show.
Mrs. Fullam is survived by her two daughters, Jayne (John) Martaron and Judith (Kevin) McGuinness; and her three sons, William (Tricia) Fullam, Thomas (Anne Marie) Fullam, and Richard (Denise) Fullam. She is also survived by her sister, Lois Foley; 16 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren; and many friends. She was predeceased by her husband, Lawrence; and two sons, Michael and James.
Visitation was held on May 30 at O’Connell-Rothwell Funeral Home. A funeral Mass was held on May 31 at the Basilica Parish of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in Southampton. Interment followed at Calverton National Cemetery.
Memorial donations may be made toward a bench in Joan and Larry’s honor, to be placed at Southampton Shores Pavilion. Make check payable to Thomas Fullam, 189 Warfield Way, Southampton, NY 11968.
on May 30, 2019