Obituary: Dr. James V. Joy III, 54, Darien Native

The following obituary of Dr. James V. Joy III, 54, is from his family:

Dr. James V. Joy III, best known as Jim, died Thursday, November 1, in Ushuaia, Argentina in a
glacier skiing accident while on his journey to Antarctica to ski all seven continents. Jim was 54 years old and leaves behind his beautiful wife, Lori and daughters, Katie and Audrey.

Jim was born on May 12, 1964 to James V. Joy, Jr and Clare G. Joy to the delight of his parents,
after having three daughters, to carry on the family name. His grandfather, James V. Joy Sr., was born in County Kerry, Ireland in 1898, the second youngest of 17 children. JVJ Sr., was said to have taken out an article in the local Connecticut paper to praise God for the birth of his namesake and hand out cigars to the world! JVJ Sr was a co-founder of Fairfield University in Fairfield, CT. On his mother’s side, Jim is a descendent of Lieutenant Lewis De La Vergne of, the 2nd New York Regiment of the American Revolution, who was also a signer of the Articles of Association in July 1775, and his great, great uncle was Nathan L. Miller, the 43rd governor of New York.

Jim grew up in Darien, Connecticut and attended Holmes School and St. John-St.Thomas More
School where, with his family, he formed his strong Catholic faith. He graduated from Darien High
School in 1982 and went on to attend Fordham University with his beloved sister, Mary. He graduated Magna Cum Laude with a dual major in both Biology and Philosophy in 1986. After Fordham, where his father was a law school graduate, Jim went on to attend the College of Physician and Surgeons at Columbia University where he graduated with a Doctor in Medicine in 1990.

Jim met the love of his life, Dr. Lori Frank Joy in 1992 at the University of Washington while completing his medical residency. Jim and Lori were married in Billings, Montana in his wife’s home town surrounded by hundreds of friends and family. Their first daughter, Katherine “Katie”, was born in 1999 followed by Audrey in 2001. Jim’s first passion was his family and his multitude of friends. The family resides in Spokane, Washington where Jim was an anesthesiologist with Anesthesia Associates for over 20 years. Jim loved puns so the fact that both he and his wife were “Dr. Joy”, one alleviating the suffering through anesthesia, the other bringing new life and joy into the world as an OB/GYN, was not lost on anyone.

Jim was preceded in death by his father, James V. Joy, Jr and his father-in-law, Nick V. Frank. He
is survived by his mother, Clare G. Joy of Darien, Connecticut, his three older sisters, Louise Joy (Gary Lewis) of Austin, TX, Susan Joy Minker (Marc) of Naples, FL, and Mary Joy Paul (Joe Middelburg) of Golden, Colorado, and his mother-in-law Hilda Frank of Billings, MT, brothers-in-law Robert Frank of Columbus, MT, Dan Frank (Lori) and Tom Frank (Cathy Jo) of Billings, Brian Frank (Becky) of Joliet, MT and sisters-in-law Brenda Frank of Pflugerville, TX, and Michelle Hill (Curtis) of Great Falls, MT and numerous nieces and nephews.

Jim touched his community with his care for others, love for the outdoors and adventuring, great intelligence and wisdom, generous and kind spirit, and for his deep, powerful love for his family. He was a spark, and through his life, he set the world on fire. We will miss him very, very much.

Catholic Mass on Monday, November 12 at 11 am at St. Aloysius Church located in Spokane, Washington. The mass will be visual on www.stalschurch.org and click on live streaming.

In lieu of flowers, donations would greatly be appreciated to Second Harvest Food Bank of
Spokane or the Gonzaga Prep Food Drive.