Thomas A. Joyce

Thomas A. Joyce 93, of Indianapolis, died peacefully while he slept on Saturday afternoon January 9, 2016. He is survived by his spouse, Betty. They enjoyed 72 wonderful years as husband and wife. He is also survived by his daughter, Niki Simpson (Arthur) from Myrtle Beach, SC.; son, Kevin Joyce (Natalie) of Indianapolis; 5 grandchildren: Kelly Apacible, Scott Simpson, Julie Stoner, Amy Wright and Adam Joyce, and 8 great-grandchildren. Mr. Joyce served in the military as an Officer in the United States Navy from 1941 to 1947 and defended his country with a tour of duty in World War II. Upon his discharge from the military, he went to work for Indiana Bell Telephone. After 35 years of service in many various capacities with the “Phone Company”, he retired in 1982. As it turned out, Indiana Bell was the only company he ever worked for when his military service career was over. Thomas loved his sports. In the fall, on most Friday nights for around 44 years, from 1961 to at least 2005 you would see him on the top row, somewhere between the 40 yard lines at Scecina Memorial High School football games. On every football Saturday afternoon or evening until just before his death, he would be in front of a television somewhere watching his beloved Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. When his son Kevin began a 16 year career as a softball coach at Scecina High School, Mr. Joyce found a new sport he fell in love with. For many of those 16 years he traveled, regardless of location to watch Scecina Memorial High School softball. As his age began to catch up with him, the last couple of years were restricted to home games. He saw his last live softball games in 2012, just short of his 90th birthday. Mr. Joyce also spent a number of years coaching in the Indianapolis Catholic Youth Organization. All of his CYO coaching years were spent at Little Flower Catholic Parish, where he helped for a couple of years in the mid 1960s with the football program. He truly loved coaching basketball and he coached all various ages and grade levels for about 10 years at Little Flower. Many of his former players, to this day will remember his favorite offensive play to run. He called it “Old Faithful” because it “Always works”. After his coaching days ended he remained very active at Little Flower in their Athletic Department. He spent countless hours every Saturday and Sunday during basketball season, at the gym working to “Keep the games on time”. All of his hard work and dedication did not go unnoticed, as the Indianapolis Catholic Youth Organization would award him the prestigious St. John Bosco medal for the many years of helping the youth of Indianapolis. Visitation will be Thursday, January 14th from 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at Shirley Brothers Washington Memorial Chapel, 9606 E. Washington St. with a Mass of Christian Burial 10:00 a.m. Friday at Holy Spirit Catholic Church, 7243 E. 10th St. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO). www.cyoarchindy.org

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Thomas A. Joyce

August 8, 1922 - January 9, 2016