Suzanne Merideth Joy

Suzanne Merideth Joy, beloved wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt and friend, died in Teramo, Italy on December 7, 2004, where she was engaged in research on behalf of the Italian Government through the United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). She was intensely kind, compassionate, modest, and unfailing in her support of others. Everyone who knows her feels this loss and misses her caring personality and radiant smile. Suzanne was born in Goose Bay, Labrador on April 12, 1961. Her early years were spent in Virginia, Madrid, Spain and Minnesota. She graduated from Sahuaro High School in Tucson, Arizona in 1979 as valedictorian of her class and was elected Homecoming Queen the same year. At Sahuaro, Suzanne began a life-long interest in photography, which she used to the fullest during her years serving in the Peace Corps in Kenya, East Africa. Suzanne’s interests were ever directed outward in service. Her time in the Peace Corps followed graduation from Colorado State University, where Suzanne graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi as the outstanding senior in Microbiology. After returning from the Peace Corps, she worked for the National Institutes of Health doing research on a pertussis vaccine. She returned to CSU in 1987 for a Master’s Degree in Wildlife Biology (1990), studying the sharp-shinned hawk on the western slope. She continued innovative research in using satellite imagery, spatial statistics, and geographic information systems to model potential goshawk habitat as part of a doctoral degree in Ecology, awarded in 2002. Suzanne was also an accomplished equestrian and loved all animals. In 1997, she married Vern Thomas and gave birth to their son, Quinn Edwin Thomas-Joy, in 1998. Suzanne is mourned by her beloved husband, Vern, her adored son, Quinn, her mother Sherry Joy, her father Frederick W. Joy, her sisters Stephanie, Michele and Ann, her aunt Mary Joy McClure, nieces Jacqueline and Suzanne Sanmarco and Emma Shahriari, and nephews Benjamin Sanmarco and Alexander Shahriari. She is also mourned by her extended family and many, many friends and colleagues both in the United States and Europe. A memorial service for Suzanne will be held on Friday, December 17, 2004 at the Foothills Unitarian Church, 1815 Yorktown Avenue (west Drake Road), Fort Collins, CO at 3:00 p.m. Memorial contributions in lieu of flowers may be in Suzanne’s name to The Nature Conservancy, the World Wildlife Fund or the Battered Women’s Shelter in Fort Collins in care of Allnutt Funeral Service, 650 W. Drake Road, Fort Collins, CO 80526.