Joseph Henry Choy

1951 - 2016

Joseph Henry Choy of Thornton, Colorado, formerly of Boulder, after a lengthy illness passed peacefully at home. Joe was born to Harry and Irene Choy on May 16, 1951 in San Francisco, California. He grew up in Oakland where he attended Bishop O'Dowd High School. He completed his Eagle Scout and went to the 1967 Scouting World Jamboree in Idaho. Joe majored in computer science at the University of San Francisco and completed his Master's at Purdue University. Joe met his wife Margaret in high school and they were married August 11, 1973. He began his career at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Their children Michael and Brian were born in Livermore, CA. After moving to Colorado in 1980, they added Rebecca, James and Catherine to the family. Dedicated to running, Joe competed in the Avenue of the Giants and San Francisco marathons. He was a daily runner from his workplace at NCAR in Boulder, where he was a manager of distributive computing and graphics. His accomplishments included work on the national educational and research committee establishing the network that became known as the Internet. As a National Science Foundation representative, Joe guided Mexico's higher education integration into the Internet. Passionate about the Catholic Church, Joe and Margaret presented weekends for Worldwide Marriage Encounter. Here they shared their love story and met many lifelong friends. Joe was parish council president at St. Martin de Porres in Boulder in 1982. He later served on the Petra Council for the Archdiocese of Denver. Stricken with a brain tumor in 1993 Joe was no longer able to be gainfully employed, but continued volunteer work as sacristan at Sacred Heart of Jesus in Boulder. He refereed youth soccer games for his own children and for many other competitive leagues. Over the course of 15 years, a Chinese Banquet prepared by Joe was auctioned at the Sacred Heart of Jesus School Mayfair fundraiser earning the school in excess of $25,000. Joe is survived by his wife, Margaret; and their five children, Michael (Amber), Brian (Jennifer), Rebecca Conger (Jacob), James (Christina) and Catherine LeRoy (Mark); grandchildren, Emmanuel, Emily, Abby, Landen, Allie, Caleb Conger, Zora Conger, Aurelia, Lucia, Raphael, Josette and Giovanni. Joe was preceded in death by his parents and is survived by his brothers, Martin, Stephen, Richard, David and Edward. In lieu of flowers donations may be made in his memory to Sacred Heart of Jesus School (Boulder, CO) scholarship fund or Catholic Relief Services.