Donald Joy
Age - 89
December 8, 2023
Donald Richard Joy, 1934 - 2023Over a 40-year career in nuclear energy, Donald R. Joy became a highly regarded nuclear reactor engineer who joined the nascent U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission shortly after it was established in 1975 to regulate the safety of radioactive materials. He was proud to have contributed to the development and regulation of nuclear energy, but most of all, he valued the family he and his wife of 64 years, Joan Armstrong Joy. Donald Richard Joy was born on Jan. 13, 1934, in Honolulu, Hawaii. He died Nov. 27, 2023, in Washington, D. C. The cause of death was a stroke. Throughout his life, he lived alongside historic events such as the bombing of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, and the development of the peaceful uses of nuclear energy after the Manhattan Project. When U. S. and Soviet relations improved after the Cold War, he was among the NRC safety experts who traveled to Russia as ambassadors advocating for establishment of Western safety standards and regulations. When looking back upon his life, Don often told stories about his childhood in Hawaii as well as his work in nuclear energy. Told in a straightforward and humble way, these stories were intimate glimpses of American history. He saw Japanese planes flying overhead early one Sunday morning when he had slipped outside to play in a neighborhood park. His school was taken over by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers after that day, Dec. 7, 1941, so classes were held in homes and at the University of Hawaii. He was part of a student parade to reclaim the school building at the end of the war. Don attended the Punahou School from kindergarten through 12th grade, graduating in 1952. He was a member of the Punahou track team from 10th through 12th grades. He attended both the University of Hawaii and Oregon State University, and he obtained his B. S. degree in chemistry from Oregon State in 1957. On June 15, 1957, Don married Joan Dennis Armstrong whom he met in a chemistry class at Oregon State University. When telling how they met, Joan always said it was on a blind date. Actually, he had noticed her in class and requested that a friend introduce them. The young couple moved to Grants, N. M. , where Don was employed as a chemist at a New Mexico uranium mill. By 1960, Joan and Don returned to the Pacific Northwest where he became a reactor engineer at the Engineering Test Reactor at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory. Their three children - Linda, Kathleen, and David - were born in Idaho Falls where the family lived until 1965. They then relocated to western New York state where he worked as a supervisor at a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant, Nuclear Fuel Services in West Valley, N. Y. As NASA's Apollo Program unfolded in the late 1960s, under the dark skies of rural western New York, Don put a telescope up in the front yard on many a summer night. He thrilled his children with close up views of the moon and planets. He taught them about the solar system, galaxies, and constellations. He encouraged their curiosity and introduced them to the universe. The family went on camping trips in the Adirondack Mountains, and he always made pancakes or French toast on Saturday mornings. In 1970, Don accepted a position as a supervisor at General Electric's nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in Morris, Illinois. The Joy family settled in Joliet. A longtime baseball fan, Don took his family to Wrigley Field to watch Chicago Cubs games. Since his oldest daughter had started playing baseball in the street with other neighborhood kids, he bought programs and taught her how to score baseball games. Coincidentally, GE company picnics typically included softball games. At one such event, Don and his daughter were playing on opposite teams. She was pitching when he came up to bat. To whoops and hollers from his coworkers, she managed to strike him out. She was gleeful, and it took many years for her to understand that he had gifted her a great memory by swinging and missing. In 1975, Don became a senior engineer at Westinghouse's Plutonium Fuels Development Laboratory in Cheswick, Pennsylvania. The Joys lived for about a year in Monroeville, Pennsylvania. That summer they attended Pittsburgh Pirates games. In 1976, Don was offered a position with the federal government's Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The Joy family relocated again, moving to Germantown, Maryland. He worked for the NRC for the next 20 years as a senior safeguards analyst and senior licensing reviewer in the area of material control and accounting. He traveled regularly to various sites licensed by the NRC to assure proper accounting of nuclear materials, among other responsibilities during his NRC career. For the Joy family, living near the nation's capital meant endless opportunities to explore museums and national monuments. For example, Don took his family to visit the National Air and Space Museum shortly after it opened in July 1976. Alas, Washington, D. C. , no longer had a baseball team at that time. Following his retirement from the NRC in 1996, he worked as a senior safeguards consultant on a part-time basis with JAI Corporation. During this time, he authored An Introduction to The Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Nuclear Safeguards. He had recognized the need for such a book to ensure that people new to the nuclear field had a comprehensive resource to augment informal training related to specific work assignments. His hope was that this book would give those working in nuclear energy a big picture, in-depth, and comprehensive understanding of the fuel cycle. This book was published in October 1999. In 1996, Don and Joan moved to Conway, South Carolina, not far from Myrtle Beach, settling in an over-55 community called Myrtle Trace. They enjoyed entertainment from country music concerts to Broadway at the Beach productions, became regulars in local restaurants, and held season tickets to the Myrtle Beach Pelicans minor league baseball team. They regularly hosted visits from their children, other family members, and old friends they'd known for decades. Don continued his passion for stamp collecting, completing several unique collections, such as a four-album set of 20th century U. S. stamps. He loved jigsaw puzzles and enjoyed working in the yard. When Joan faced various health issues and decreased mobility, Don learned from visiting home healthcare nurses how to care for Joan as she healed. Always devoted, he gave her excellent care up until their move to Brookdale Senior Living in Conway, S. C. , in 2019. Throughout his life, he maintained a deep love of Hawaii. He made many return visits with Joan and other family members. Hawaiian music emanated from his stereo speakers when his wife was not playing country tunes. He was recognized for his impressive collection of Hawaiian shirts which in retirement, he wore nearly every day. He served his guests Kona coffee and chocolate covered macadamia nuts. His wife, Joan, predeceased him in 2021. His sister, Marian Lois Hathaway, predeceased him in 2011. He is survived by his three children, Linda Joy, Katie Ford (Shannon), and David Joy (Offy); two grandchildren Cameron Ford (Joanna) and Carson Ford (Kimmy); two great granddaughters Emma Kate Ford and Audrey Ford; and two nephews Wayne Hathaway (Vicki) and Bruce Hathaway (Ruth). If desired, memorial donations may be made to the Punahou Alumni Association. A private memorial service will be held in Hawaii.Show more
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