Timothy Lee Joyce

1949 - 2025

Timothy Lee Joyce

August 2, 1949 - May 27, 2025

Tim Joyce passed on May 27, 2025 at the age of 75. He was born on August 2, 1949. Tim was the son of James Sr. and Avis Joyce. Tim was preceded in passing by his brothers John Joyce and Jim (Judy) Joyce.

He is survived by his wife Janet, his siblings Lois Montague (Kent), Jerry Joyce (Nancy), and Casey Joyce (Brenda), his children Brian Joyce (Linda), Kim Erickson (Jon), and Tami Pirkle (Stephen), his grandchildren Jake, Anna, Grace, and James, his nieces/nephews Scott, Kevin, Jennifer, Brigit, Jennifer, Ian, Jim, Joe, and Haley.

Tim grew up in Madison on Holly Avenue. He went to Madison West High School. Monsignor McDonald at Queen of Peace convinced Tim that he had the calling, and sent him to St. Francis Seminary in Milwaukee. He lasted one semester... wasn't meant to be a potential pope. Tim claimed to have attended UW Madison, but we're not sure. He trained horses, spent summers on farms in Richland Center, and worked for his dad's ambulance company. Tim went to work at Carpetland USA. He married Debbie Strope and had a son, Brian, in 1977. Tim went on to build a career in the floorcoverings industry and served in many leadership roles for different companies around the country. He married Janet Woods in 1995 in Cancun, Mexico. He gained two bonus daughters in that deal. Tim and Janet lived in the Atlanta area for more than 30 years. Tim was an active member in his community and a competitive tennis player. He loved riding his Harley in the north Georgia mountains.

Tim convinced the people in his Atlanta-area community that, having been raised in Wisconsin, he was a bratwurst expert. Neighbors begged him to bring his brats to community events, because brats were not always readily available in the South. He would boil hundreds of brats over the course of a night. During one of these community events, Tim's brats started a fire at a grilling station. Excessive grease dripped onto dry pine needles that had accumulated at the base of the grill. A fire erupted and threatened to burn down the clubhouse next to the pool. A bucket brigade used pool water to extinguish the fire and minimize damage. The grease from those brats forced a diverse group of community members to band together that day. Truly a unifier. Tim was an experience. He was a gracious host, had a great sense of humor, and he knew how to entertain a group. He loved family and friends and looked forward to Thanksgiving at Lois's, summer trips to Sturgeon Bay, and family reunions. He played many roles in his life and he had more stories than an Irish pub. He was good at telling his family that he was proud of them. No one is perfect, but for the most part, people benefited from Tim Joyce's time on Earth. If you get the urge to honor Tim's legacy, have a cocktail and tell some tall tales.