Kenneth S. Joyce Jr. Obituary
Kenneth S. Joyce Jr., 80, of Gloucester, passed away Saturday, March 19th at the Lahey Hospital and Medical Center in Burlington with his family at his side. He was the loving husband of 52 years of Turibia M. (Carrancho) Joyce.
Born in Gloucester on May 9, 1941, he was the son of the late Kenneth and Esther (Vautier) Joyce Sr.
Ken was a graduate of Gloucester High School with the Class of 1959. Following graduation, he served in the U.S. Navy from 1960 to 1964, stationed on the destroyer USS Purdy working as a machinery repairman. His service on the Purdy included operations with other navy vessels implementing the Naval Quarantine in the Caribbean Sea during the Cuban Missile Crisis in November 1962.
After learning the trade during his navy service, upon his discharge Ken worked as a machinist for many years. He first worked at United Shoe Machinery, and then Gloucester Engineering, followed by Sinterbond. Ken then tried his hand at commercial fishing on Our Lady of Fatima, but left to start his own business with his brother-in-law. Together they created Beauport Engineering, where they did machine work for various companies. Throughout his career, Ken always liked working for himself and learning new trades, and he could fix or build almost anything around the house. Later in life, Ken even upgraded his clamming license to a commercial license and enjoyed digging clams with his nephew Craig.
Ken was proud to be from Gloucester and loved his hometown and all it had to offer. He enjoyed boating with friends and family off the coast of Cape Ann, and especially loved his 33-ft wooden Boothbay, the Alert, cruising it up and down the coast of New England. He loved to go tuna fishing, bluefishing, and taking everybody in his skiff over to Wingaersheek Beach from his mooring in Lobster Cove. A yearly highlight was watching the fireworks display right overhead near Stage Fort Park in the Alert.
Throughout his life Ken had a love of reading, learning new things, meeting people, and exploring new places. One of his favorite things to do was travel with family and friends. Ken always took the scenic route. He particularly enjoyed the Canadian Maritimes as well as Newfoundland. He served on the International Dory Committee and enjoyed attending the races both in Gloucester and Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. He also took trips to the Bahamas, Mexico, many countries in Europe, Hawaii, and the West Coasts of the United States and Canada. A highlight of these trips was in 2000 when he finally visited Ireland for the first time. Over the last 20 years, Ken reconnected with his navy shipmates and attended navy reunions all over the country with his wife. Although he rarely went on a ride, Ken loved visiting Disney World where he stood in hours-long lines to meet princesses and famous mice, all for his treasured grandchildren, Kat and Piper.
Ken was a longtime member of the Gloucester Lodge of Elks and served as a trustee during the early '90s, assisting with the lodge's efforts to acquire the current Back Shore location. When he was in Gloucester, he never missed a day of signing in. He loved to spend time at the bar socializing with friends. In later years, he also joined the St. Peter's Club and had many good friends there as well.
After retiring, Ken and his wife bought a condo in Estero, Florida, and spent many winters enjoying the beaches and warm weather with family and friends from Gloucester.
In addition to his wife Turibia, he will be dearly missed by his daughters, Joanna Joyce and her husband David Murray, Colleen Rowe-Joyce and her wife Ashley; grandchildren, Kathleen and Piper Rowe-Joyce, all of Gloucester; three sisters, Sandra Harris of Gloucester, Linda Aylwin of Ipswich, and Barbara Lumbard of Connecticut; mother-in-law Joanna Carrancho of Gloucester; sisters- and brothers-in law, Nella and Tony Zerilli of Gloucester, Michael and Nancy Carrancho of Virginia, and many nieces, nephews, and close lifelong friends.
In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by his father-in-law Manuel Carrancho, and his brothers-in-law Carlton Lumbard, Ed Harris, and Ken Aylwin.
Family and friends are cordially invited to attend a memorial service on his birthday, May 9, 2022, at 11:00 am at the Gloucester Elks Lodge, 97 Atlantic Road, Gloucester, MA.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in his memory to The Open Door, 28 Emerson Avenue, Gloucester, MA 01930 or the Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research, 415 Crossways Park Drive, Suite D, Woodbury NY 11797. Arrangements are by the Greely Funeral Home, 212 Washington St. Gloucester, MA.
