Joyce F. Blasi was born on Feb. 13, 1931, in Centralia, Ill., to Howard P. and Eunice M. (Ashcraft) Fluckey. Joyce’s career as a professional educator spanned almost five decades. She began teaching in 1953, immediately after receiving her Bachelor of Arts degree from Adams State University, Alamosa, Colo.
In 1962, she earned a Master of Arts degree from Adams State, and in 1979, a Doctorate of Philosophy degree from the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.
New Mexico is also where she met and married her best friend and life companion, John Jenkin. In 1985, Joyce and John moved to Bryan, Texas, where Joyce worked for the Bryan Independent School District until she retired in 2001.
Joyce was preceded in death by her husband, John; her parents, Howard and Eunice; and her sisters, Phyllis Gordinier and Orah Antoinette (Toni) Goudy.
She is survived by her son, Roger Brian Blasi; grandson, Lee Thomas Finley-Blasi; and two great-grandchildren, Thomas and Georgia Finley. She is also survived by her brother, Frank Fluckey, and her beloved godsons, Michael Morpurgo and Chauncy Anderson.
Visitation will be held Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, 12:30 p.m., at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 600 East 26th St., Bryan, Texas, followed by a Rosary at 1 p.m. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 1:30 p.m. with committal service immediately following at Mount Calvary Catholic Cemetery, 2811 Old Kurten Rd., Bryan, Texas.
