Burt Joyce Was born in Connecticut, the second of four children. He grew up on a farm, and during and after high school he supported himself by operating a dairy farm and hiring out his bulldozing skills.


At 24 he joined the Army and was eventually stationed at Ft. Lewis, where he met Mary Krilich. They married and established a home in Ruston, where they spent most of their 56 years of marriage and raised their 6 children. Burt took night classes at the University of Puget Sound while working full-time and raising a family, graduating in 1967; he received his master's degree in Criminology from UC Berkeley in 1969. Burt retired in 1990 from the Tacoma Police Department as a Captain after 30 years of service to the community; he also taught Criminology at UPS and St. Martin's for many years.


He and Mary were lifelong members of Holy Cross Catholic Church. He is survived by daughter Mary Ann Clabaugh (Dave), and sons Stephen (Karen), Peter, John (Liz), Paul (Julie), and Thomas (Jan-Marie), plus 18 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren; sister Carol Joyce, brother Dan (Cindy), sisters-in-law Fran Shensky, Anna Joers (Carl), and Rosemary Krilich, and brother-in-law Tom Krilich.


He will be remembered as a loving husband, a devoted father, a man of integrity, and as one who always kept a positive outlook on life. We are sure he is making friends in Heaven right now!


Rosary will be Tuesday, July 17, at 7pm at Gaffney Funeral Home. Funeral Mass will be Wednesday, July 18, 11am, at Holy Cross Catholic Church. Burt so enjoyed his time as an instructor at the Tacoma Police Academy that the family requests, in lieu of flowers, that donations be made in his name to the Tacoma Police Explorer Program, 3701 S. Pine Street, Tacoma, WA, 98409.

Arrangements by Gaffney Funeral Home

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