Obituary for John Joyce
Click here for Webcast
The Joyce family mourns the loss of John J. Joyce, who died of pancreatic cancer at his home in Verona with his family at his side on Monday, October 17, 2022.
From the moment he was born, John’s presence has always been outsized. As one family member described him, he lived as large as it was possible to live without it being unpleasant – a big personality, a big laugh, a big voice, a big heart, the enormous pleasure he took in the three Fs: friends, family and food. The consummate host. Lover of a good joke. Someone who was always reading an interesting book. A family man in the best sense – loving father, joyful grandfather and smitten husband, the very best brother, a wonderful son, an attentive uncle, and apparently well-regarded in all the in-law categories.
John’s family encompasses his wife Stacey, four children, James (Kaitlin), Kate Anderson (Mark), Kevin (Aparna Patankar) and Molly (Avery Attinson); eight grandchildren, Maeve, Darcy, Cormac, Leela and Nalin Joyce, and Maggie, Audrey and John Robert Anderson; brothers David and Michael (Wanda) and sister Katherine Joyce (Tim Koechlin); his mother, Carole Carlin (Jerry), step-mother, Marcia Joyce (Dennis Cronin); a host of much-loved nieces and nephews, as well as his in-laws, step-families, aunts and cousins. He was predeceased by his father, Charles Raymond Joyce. He was born October 12, 1959, in Harrisburg, PA and spent his early years in New Orleans, LA before the family moved to Montclair, NJ, where John lived and raised his own family for most of the next 50 years.
It was in Montclair that John began accumulating his extensive circle of friends, to whom he had seemingly limitless devotion. John treasured those friendships, some dating to his elementary school years, many more he collected along the way through his involvement in Montclair’s organized athletics, his children’s school activities, his community and professional pursuits and his family’s own vigorous social life. John put a lot of energy into the happiness and well-being of his inner circle, but also found the capacity to care personally or anonymously for people in the larger community, touching the lives of many people who found themselves in a place of need, hurt or disadvantage. John was also instrumental in forming the Montclair High School Alumni Association and implementing a series of new scholarships.
Many people knew John best as an athlete, with a football career that began on the Cobras and continued at Montclair High, later at Colgate University and finally, with the New Jersey Generals. But it’s possible his greatest pleasure in the sport came from coaching and mentoring athletes after retiring from the game himself, although he was never far from a playing field or a pair of running shoes almost to the very end.
John was a prince of a man – none better – and our world is a lot quieter and a bit darker without him in it. He lived his last year and a half with optimism and determination, focused on the people and things that mattered most to him, making the most of every moment he could enjoy, and his last weeks and days were a master class in love. John would not want his memorial to center on sorrow and loss, so the family plans a celebration of his life that testifies to his spirit of hospitality and humor.
Friends and acquaintances are invited to take part in joyful remembrance of John, with a visitation at the Commonwealth Club in Upper Montclair from 4pm-8pm on Thursday, November 17th. Funeral services at Union Congregational Church at 11am on Saturday, November 19th. For those unable to join us on Thursday or Saturday, the family encourages you to set aside a moment to think of John as you enjoy a meal, a laugh, a run, or the rising sun.
Gifts in John’s memory may be directed to the Montclair Fund for Educational Excellence (MFEE) “John J. Joyce ASL Fund,” to fund American Sign Language initiatives for Montclair school children.
The Joyce family mourns the loss of John J. Joyce, who died of pancreatic cancer at his home in Verona with his family at his side on Monday, October 17, 2022.
From the moment he was born, John’s presence has always been outsized. As one family member described him, he lived as large as it was possible to live without it being unpleasant – a big personality, a big laugh, a big voice, a big heart, the enormous pleasure he took in the three Fs: friends, family and food. The consummate host. Lover of a good joke. Someone who was always reading an interesting book. A family man in the best sense – loving father, joyful grandfather and smitten husband, the very best brother, a wonderful son, an attentive uncle, and apparently well-regarded in all the in-law categories.
John’s family encompasses his wife Stacey, four children, James (Kaitlin), Kate Anderson (Mark), Kevin (Aparna Patankar) and Molly (Avery Attinson); eight grandchildren, Maeve, Darcy, Cormac, Leela and Nalin Joyce, and Maggie, Audrey and John Robert Anderson; brothers David and Michael (Wanda) and sister Katherine Joyce (Tim Koechlin); his mother, Carole Carlin (Jerry), step-mother, Marcia Joyce (Dennis Cronin); a host of much-loved nieces and nephews, as well as his in-laws, step-families, aunts and cousins. He was predeceased by his father, Charles Raymond Joyce. He was born October 12, 1959, in Harrisburg, PA and spent his early years in New Orleans, LA before the family moved to Montclair, NJ, where John lived and raised his own family for most of the next 50 years.
It was in Montclair that John began accumulating his extensive circle of friends, to whom he had seemingly limitless devotion. John treasured those friendships, some dating to his elementary school years, many more he collected along the way through his involvement in Montclair’s organized athletics, his children’s school activities, his community and professional pursuits and his family’s own vigorous social life. John put a lot of energy into the happiness and well-being of his inner circle, but also found the capacity to care personally or anonymously for people in the larger community, touching the lives of many people who found themselves in a place of need, hurt or disadvantage. John was also instrumental in forming the Montclair High School Alumni Association and implementing a series of new scholarships.
Many people knew John best as an athlete, with a football career that began on the Cobras and continued at Montclair High, later at Colgate University and finally, with the New Jersey Generals. But it’s possible his greatest pleasure in the sport came from coaching and mentoring athletes after retiring from the game himself, although he was never far from a playing field or a pair of running shoes almost to the very end.
John was a prince of a man – none better – and our world is a lot quieter and a bit darker without him in it. He lived his last year and a half with optimism and determination, focused on the people and things that mattered most to him, making the most of every moment he could enjoy, and his last weeks and days were a master class in love. John would not want his memorial to center on sorrow and loss, so the family plans a celebration of his life that testifies to his spirit of hospitality and humor.
Friends and acquaintances are invited to take part in joyful remembrance of John, with a visitation at the Commonwealth Club in Upper Montclair from 4pm-8pm on Thursday, November 17th. Funeral services at Union Congregational Church at 11am on Saturday, November 19th. For those unable to join us on Thursday or Saturday, the family encourages you to set aside a moment to think of John as you enjoy a meal, a laugh, a run, or the rising sun.
Gifts in John’s memory may be directed to the Montclair Fund for Educational Excellence (MFEE) “John J. Joyce ASL Fund,” to fund American Sign Language initiatives for Montclair school children.