James Timothy Joyce

Tim Joyce was born in Indianapolis where he lived his entire life. Third-born to parents Jack Joyce and Jean Joyce Lewis, he later had loving step-parents as well, Suzanne Joyce and Red Lewis, as well as many wonderful aunts, uncles and cousins.

Tim graduated from John Marshall HS in 1978, making many life-long friends along the way. He later earned a certification in Phlebotomy, working in that field for two years. He worked at Wonder Bakery for seven years, and then in home remodeling. Tim had a wonderful eye for design, and a desire to complete every project to perfection. For the past 15 years he worked primarily with his life partner Karen Holmes in both remodeling and catering, at Obsidian and then Fancy Pans.

Tim struggled with the disease of alcoholism, which eventually took his life. During his longer periods of sobriety he was very involved in Alcoholics Anonymous.

Tim is preceded in death by his mother and father, his step-parents, his half-sister Elizabeth Ann, and step-brother Mark. He leaves behind girlfriend Karen, sister Jennifer, brother John, half-brother Brock, and his nieces and nephews Laura, Michael, Stefany, Sara Jane and David. He will be deeply missed.

A Celebration of Tim's Life took place on Monday, April 4, 2016 at 1:00 pm, at Flanner and Buchanan – Geist, 7855 Cork Rd, Indianapolis IN 46236. The following is a transcript of his service, including songs that were played and guests that spoke:

OPENING SONG: Somewhere over the Rainbow

OPENING/WELCOME
Good afternoon and welcome. My name is Carrie Smith and I am honored to be the Funeral Celebrant for our time together today, celebrating the life and mourning the death of Tim Joyce.
We come together today to stand with Tim’s family as we remember and honor his life.
Let me express the family’s gratitude for your presence. The journey of grief is long and those who walk it should not have to walk it alone. In times like these, nothing takes the place of family and friends. Your presence helps the family realize how valuable their loved one was to others and shows what an impact his living and dying has made.

CANDLELIGHTING CEREMONY – 4 CANDLES, KAREN, JOHN, JENNIFER & Carrie

REMEMBERING TIM
James Timothy Joyce was born on March 5, 1960 to Jack and Jean Joyce in Indianapolis, Indiana. Tim was the third born and baby of the family, sharing childhood with his older brother, John and older sister, Jennifer.
Tim from a very early age enjoyed spending time outdoors and much of his time was spent playing in the woods and joining in on a good game of kickball or basketball with the neighbor kids. Jennifer was often part of the fun and if any trouble was found, Big Brother John would come to the rescue!
Tim was truly the proverbial baby of the family, and a mama’s boy, a proud one! Tim’s love for family was a huge part of his heart from day one.
Tim was blessed with extra family when his parents divorced and remarried. Tim was especially fond of his step dad, “Red” who was a true blessing at that time in Tim’s life. He also inherited Suzanne, his step mom who was also much needed support. Tim not only gained step brothers, Mark and Brock, but he learned that he had a half-sister, Liza.
At the age of 15, Tim worked his first job and earned enough money to buy a much awaited Blue Fuji bicycle that he still owned to this very day. Due to his amazing mechanical abilities, Tim was able to renovate and update his bicycle over the years. After graduating from John Marshall High School, Tim had put his natural skills to work by working in various jobs; construction, fabrication, flooring, the “fix it guy” at Wonder Bread bakery, and most recently home remodeling and catering with his beloved, Karen.
Tim as many of us know was very bright, once he put his mind to something, he would excel. His attention to detail and his perfection never went unnoticed. He had even gone to school to be a phlebotomist and rose to the top of his class. He loved working with the patients, his compassion and gentleness always shining through.
Tim loved life. His love for and appreciation of nature, especially a beautiful sunset, clear starry night, or a picturesque sky…Tim was present in the moment…taking in the beauty of the people and the things right in front of him. A quote by John Burroughs, says, “I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order.” He loved all of you and he knew he was loved by all of you. Loving Tim was not always easy. Because loving an alcoholic or an addict is one of life’s most difficult challenges. A painful struggle, an ever-changing cycle of holding on and letting go.
Sadly, Tim from a very early age, struggled with addiction. Tim like many, many others in this world, fought a daily battle of making a choice to either function as expected for the day, with work and home and family responsibilities or to surrender to the strong hold that the addiction has a grip on.
It’s been said that, “There is no person walking the face of the earth who demonstrates more courage, dignity, honesty, and integrity on a daily basis than an addict in recovery.” Tim was often in and out of recovery. Sometimes it was years, sometimes it was months, sometimes it was weeks, sometimes it was days, and sometimes it was mere hours.
As the famous quote says, “everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.” Tim’s battle was inherited, an unfortunate familiarity. Tim’s battle was lifelong. Tim’s battle was real. Those of you closest to him know the pain of loving him through it and you did that so well. Your love never failed. Your love never ceased. Tim knew that. Tim felt it. Tim leaned on it. Tim needed it to survive all this time. Rest assure you did the best you could and you did everything you could have. The awful truth about addiction is that despite all the support, the counseling, the encouragement, and the love, unfortunately, it often wins the battle.

Meeting the love of his life:
16 years ago or so, Tim was in the right place at the right time. While visiting the tanning salon, Tim caught a glimpse of a pretty blonde walking down the street towards The Water’s Edge restaurant. Just a short while later, he found himself sitting across from her introducing himself. The stars aligned that day, even if he did painfully make Karen wait 5 days before he showed up again!
Being a huge Pacers fan, it only seemed appropriate to take Karen to a game for their first date. So they spent the next 16 years cheering on the Pacers and the Colts, hiking, biking, riding their motorcycles, working in the yard, catering, doing home projects, and most of all decorating the house for Christmas. They were those show off neighbors we all know so well! You know the ones who win the annual neighborhood wide decorating competitions year after year? Yeah that was them. J
16 years of being each other’s life partner, best friend, confidant, working side by side and loving each other so deeply.
A famous quote reads, “the first time I saw you, my heart whispered, that’s the one.” Pretty sure that sums up the feelings and that immediate connection between Tim and Karen.
The beautiful love and bond Tim had with his angel, Karen, speaks volumes considering they survived the ugly dark times together as well. In honor of their love story, we would like to share a special song with you all.

**Song: I Won't Give Up, by Jason Mraz**

Tim's friend, Michael, spoke about their years as friends, what Michael was like through the years, and how many people Tim touched throughout his lifetime.

Gathered here are the broken hearts of Tim’s family and friends as they now must find ways to live without his precious love, laughter, and zest for life.
A quote from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, “For some moments in life, there are no words.” Tim’s death was most definitely tragic, unexpected, sudden, and heart breaking. Many of us may be asking the question why? Why Tim, why now, why this way? While we may never get the answers to these questions, I encourage us to keep asking them. In the asking, in the processing of trying to wrap our minds and hearts around such pain from yesterday, today, and tomorrow, somewhere along the path of our grief journey, we find hope and when we find hope, we can begin to heal.
Washington Irving said, “There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are messengers of overwhelming grief and unspeakable love.”
Accept your tears and expressions of loss. Help each other during those most difficult times, the holidays, the anniversaries, the birthdays.
You will be forever changed, forever altered by Tim’s loss. And that is as it should be. The intensity of the hurt only bears testimony to the depth and meaning of this relationship in your life.
Accept the angels that come to you in human form. Take in their comfort in words and hugs and deeds. Lean on them. Allow them to hold you up at times when the grief is too heavy to bear alone.
Because as Audrey Hepburn said so well, “the best thing to hold on to in life is each other.”
Give yourself time. Time to cry, to ponder, if need be time to walk and think out loud. Don’t be afraid to feel all the range of pain and anguish and let it wash through you like a river.
Tim was and remains a part of you. Treasure his memory, hold him close to you still. You will carry Tim with you always. And the sharp edges of this pain will in due time give way to something gentler, something more bearable something that is surrounded by gratitude rather than grief.
Be the guardians of his stories, in the immediate moments we lost him, we have already began to think of the things that made Tim, Tim…
Remember Tim by cheering for the Pacers and Colts.
Remember Tim when you are working in your yard, enjoying the great outdoors, or star gazing.
Remember Tim for his love of cars, a black 66 Chevelle to be exact…and racing, especially Nascar.
Remember Tim for his love for animals, even the furry cats he was allergic to.
Remember Tim for his love for music, especially rock and blues.
Remember Tim for his sweet, kind, and generous spirit. The gentle giant as he was often referred to…He was always willing to help anyone out. This is what made him such a good and often lifelong friend to so many.
Remember Tim for his ability to quote lines from just about any movie.
Remember Tim by going for a bike ride, whether it’s pedaling or motorized.
Remember Tim for his terrific sense of humor, his quick wit, and his charm.
Remember Tim for his involvement and support of Alcoholics Anonymous.
Most of all, remember Tim for his love of his family…he so cherished you all, he was a very proud uncle to his nieces, Laura, Sara Jane, Stefany and his nephews, Michael and David. He was also so very appreciative of the love and support from all of his extended family.
Winnie the Pooh said, “How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” It is said that grief is the price we pay for love.

CLOSING:
I would like to thank Karen, John, and Jennifer for the opportunity to be a part of honoring Tim’s story. I am so grateful to be invited in to this sacred space with you.
Karen would like to invite you all to her home immediately following the service where you can continue to share your favorite memories and stories about Tim.

Closing song: Sweet Baby James, James Taylor

Please share memories and condolences at www.flannerbuchanan.com by clicking on the "Guestbook" tab.

Memorial contributions may be made to:

The Humane Society of the United States
2100 L Street NW
Washington DC 20037

www.humanesociety.org