THE LAST WORD
He was one of us
T
aking in the majesty and excitement of Father Sicard’s presidential inauguration on Oct. 1, my thoughts drifted to Charlie Joyce and how much he would have enjoyed being part of that historic event. Charlie, the long-time editor of Providence College Magazine who died on May 14 at the age of 64, admired Father Sicard and was delighted when Father was named president in 2019. Moreover, Charlie loved Providence College and he was always front-and-center at the grand and momentous occasions, whether they be commencement ceremonies, events involving high-profile visitors, or sports championships. And, precisely because he appreciated and understood the true
P R OV I D E N C E C O L L E G E FA L L 2 0 2 1
BY JOE CARR ’83
nature of PC and its community, Charlie would also often just show up — camera strap around his neck — at those events attended by just a few but representing milestones to those involved. “Let me just snap a couple of pictures, and I’ll email them to you,” he would say with a gentle lilt and friendly smile. “Maybe I’ll write up a little story for the news web page.” By the way, he would put just as much energy and creativity into those five-paragraph web stories as cover stories for editions of this magazine. To Charlie, that was his job. The opportunity to make someone else feel good about what they had achieved was a bonus. There was a beautiful consis-
tency in the way Charlie lived his life, and it is reflected in the ways he is remembered. I cannot count the number of people who have approached me in the past few months to talk about Charlie and the same adjectives come up every time – kind, thoughtful, generous, and — without fail — nice. I have never known anyone nicer, and I cannot imagine that I ever will. His commitment to others, and to service, extended far beyond his work life. Charlie served his beloved parish, St. Teresa of the Child Jesus in Pawtucket, as an extraordinary minister of the Eucharist, and he was active in the Knights of Columbus. In his adopted hometown of Seekonk, he was a loyal food pantry volunteer, first in line for
