Brian A. Joyce

Joyce was born on September 5, 1962, in Winchester, Massachusetts, to Gerard J. and Marjorie C. Joyce and was the youngest of their eight children. He grew up in Milton, Massachusetts, and attended Milton High School before matriculating first at Boston College and later at Suffolk University Law School, where he graduated magna cum laude in 1990. Through one of his jobs as an undergraduate, he met Mary K. Behan of Manasquan, New Jersey, whom he married in 1987. Over their thirty-one years of marriage, Brian and Mary raised five children: John Andrew, Michael Christopher (wife Elizabeth), Mary Elizabeth, James Brian, and Andrew Augustine.

Joyce inherited his father’s commitment to public service and civic engagement. He served as a Town Meeting Member in Milton from the age of nineteen, coached youth sports, and was elected a Park Commissioner. Joyce practiced law for twenty-eight years and founded Joyce Law Group, all while remaining passionately engaged in his community and public life. He served twenty years in the Massachusetts Legislature, during which time he distinguished himself as an advocate for the marginalized and vulnerable. Senator Joyce was an early and outspoken supporter of marriage equality at a time when most elected officials were reluctant to take a stand on the issue. He voted his conscience in opposition to the death penalty against overwhelming public pressure. Joyce fought tirelessly in the Senate on behalf of his constituents, who, along with his colleagues in both parties, valued his friendship, candor, and integrity.

Joyce is survived by his wife, Mary, their five children and daughter-in-law, and his seven siblings.

Visiting hours will be held Saturday, October 6th, from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Waring-Sullivan Home at Dartmouth, 230 Russells Mills Road, South Dartmouth, Massachusetts 02748. A private memorial service will also be held with close friends and family. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in his memory to The Innocence Project to help the victims of wrongful prosecution: www.innocenceproject.org.

For online registration and directions, please visit: www.waring-sullivan.com