Jack Berry Joyce

April 8, 1930 - Feb. 27, 2025

Jack Berry Joyce, 94, of Hyattville, Wyo., and Brooklin, Maine, peacefully passed away Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, at the Wyoming Retirement Center in Basin, Wyo. His beloved wife of 70 years, Ann, predeceased Jack in 2023.

Jack was born in Wichita Falls, Texas on April 8, 1930, the son and only child of Truman and Rita Joyce, and grew up in various towns in Texas and graduated from high school in Albuquerque, N.M. He graduated from Princeton University in 1952, where he earned a degree in civil engineering and participated in NROTC, graduating as an officer in the U.S. Navy. He completed his training as a Navy pilot in Pensacola, Fla., and flew anti-submarine missions off the aircraft carrier USS Essex after the Korean war. 

Ensign Jack Joyce married Ann Robinson on Aug. 1, 1953, at her family’s home Sea Meadows in Waterford, Conn. After leaving the Navy, Jack began his career at Sandia Corporation and they first made their home in Albuquerque, N.M. He then accepted a position at the Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPL) on the James Forrestal campus of Princeton University and the family moved to Somerset, N.J. Jack spent his career at PPL, becoming Division Head of Fabrication, Operation and Maintenance, overseeing the engineering and construction of experimental nuclear fusion reactors, most notably the Tokomak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) which is still used today as a testbed for nuclear fusion research.

Jack was an active leader in the Princeton University Class of 1952, earning the honor of grand marshal at the annual reunion “P-rade” for 1983-1984 through exceptional service to the university.   He remained in contact with classmates and work colleagues at the university his whole life and joined many Naval squadron reunions over the years.

During the years living in their rural Somerset, N.J., home, Jack and Ann raised their family and were senior members of the Cortelyou Lane neighborhood. There were annual pig roasts and always a deep sense of community. After retiring Jack and Ann found that same strong community connection in Brooklin, Maine and Hyattville, Wyo.

Jack loved the wide-open spaces of the west and the view of the Big Horn Mountains.  He essentially rebuilt their Hyattville home over the years, always happiest with a building project underway. Jack also loved being out on the water and was a welcome crew member on many Maine cruises as an expert navigator and with the ability to lend assistance with engines, moorings and shipboard repairs.  Jack spent many years working on the rambling Brooklin property, building a garage, pouring a foundation under the barn, and rebuilding porches. He was usually accompanied in his shop and in his home by a beloved dog.

Jack is survived by his children John Berry Joyce and his wife Nancy Armstrong Joyce of Manderson, Wyo., Ann Joyce Delano, and her husband Joseph Sharpe Delano of Leverett, Mass., and William “Bill” James Joyce and his wife Elizabeth Lonergan Joyce of Sandy Creek, N.Y. He will be remembered by his children for whistling to the opera on the radio in the basement shop late at night while working on his latest project. He was a beloved Grandad to his many grandchildren and great grandchildren, always ready to help with mechanical advice, design solutions and tractor acquisition.

A gracious gentleman of the old school, Jack was brilliant but humble, a friend and neighbor willing to help whenever and wherever needed. With a remarkable memory, he was deeply knowledgeable about many topics, known to have the materials and tools to help fix most anything, and always ready to supply a bourbon or a cold beer with a frosted mug.

Services to be held on Friday, March 7 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Basin, Wyo. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to honor Jack’s memory to St. Francis by the Sea in Blue Hill, Maine, Neat Repeat at St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Basin, Wyo., the Hyattville Community Center in Hyattville, Wyo., or the Brooklin Fire Department in Brooklin, Maine.

Memories and condolences can be shared on Jack’s memory page at www.BallardFH.com.