Bruce Thomas Joy's Obituary
Bruce Thomas Joy, 73, of Frederick, MD, died after a long battle with cancer on January 26, 2026.
He was born in Frederick, MD in 1952 to Jack Wilson Joy and Lillian Thomas Joy. Bruce attended Governor Thomas Johnson High School, Class of 1970. He received an AA degree from Frederick Community College and graduated Lincoln Tech for Auto Mechanics. Bruce founded East Coast Doors in 1986.
Bruce was preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by his children, Casey Quinlan (Robert), Erin Joy (Charles), and Nicolas Joy (Suzanne), eight grandchildren (Samuel, Kevin, Caine, Jack, Caroline, Maiselynn, Ella, and Remi), one great grandchild (Andre), and siblings, Mark Joy (Patricia), Michael Joy (Janette), Alan Joy (Cathy), and Peggianne Joy (Stephen). He is also survived by many nieces, nephews, and great nieces and nephews.
As a youngster, Bruce and his brothers never got into trouble and were certainly never a handful for Lillian. He and his brothers hung out and played baseball and basketball at Rosedale Park and developed their lifelong love of fishing and outdoors together.
Bruce loved music. While many in his family played instruments, Bruce preferred the art of dance and never met a rug he couldn’t cut. He shared his talents at every party he attended and later with his children. There are many memories of dancing on his feet and being dipped. If there was a piano, his rendition of “Buffalo Gals” was second to none!
Bruce was a skilled auto mechanic and took his talent on the road. He drove his motorcycle or whatever car he had working all over the United States. He resided in Los Angeles for an extended period of time where he mastered door repair. He opened East Coast Doors in 1986 where he serviced both garage doors and commercial entrance doors. As a business owner, he was always on call, but there were some perks. His kids have great memories of free movies and popcorn while dad was fixing the movie theatre doors.
Blessed with the gift of gab, Bruce has always told grandiose stories. It only makes sense that he was also an avid fisherman. The tales of giant fish and epic battles between man and animal only got bigger with time. He dragged his children along in the wee hours of the morning to the Potomac or Susquehanna Rivers. There was salmon fishing in upstate New York. He chartered fishing boats on the Atlantic Ocean and in Lake Erie. He even took his love of fishing global and caught Barramundi in Australia and trout in Mavora Lake, New Zealand.
Bruce retired to Cape Coral, FL where he was able to fish both the Gulf and the canals. He survived several hurricanes when his roof and lanai did not. When he wasn’t fishing he was cruising around town in his 1967 Shelby Cobra kit car listening to Classic Rock. Some of his biggest smiles were behind the wheel of that car.
He recently returned to Frederick to be closer to his children and siblings. The phone calls and visits brought immense joy to him towards the end. He would have spent all day talking on the phone to loved ones if he could have.
In lieu of a service, a wake is scheduled for Saturday, February 28th from 12-3pm at Steinhardt Brewery in Frederick, MD. Please bring your best story and join us as we pour two fingers of Crown and toast the most infamous Joy Boy, Bruce.
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