He was born to parents Wanda and George Joy and raised in Lincoln, Nebraska. He was the youngest of three brothers. He graduated from Southeast High in 1972 and went on to graduate from Hastings College with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. After college Matt spent a year hitchhiking across the western United States, which helped define his worldview and spirit to explore. In addition to traveling, he also loved bicycling, music and going to concerts, and working on Volkswagens. In the Volkswagen club, he was known as “The Matt Joy”. He had a long career as a CPA in Lincoln and Santa Fe, New Mexico.
In 1997, he met his partner in life and love, Kim Joy. Matt and Kim were married in 2000. After spending many years in Lincoln, they moved to Santa Fe, a place to which Matt felt a strong connection. In addition to continuing his work as a CPA, Matt found joy in life in many ways. He loved traveling to national parks, spending time with friends and family, biking the trails and roads of New Mexico, listening to his favorite bands, and investing time with his DIY and woodworking projects.
Matt is survived by his wife; Kim, step-daughters; Brooklynne and Brittany Rosado, brother; George (Jan) Joy, niece and nephew; Elizabeth (Amaha) Tsegaye and George (Sara) Joy, sister-in-law; Susan (Gregory) Joy, multiple beloved nieces, nephews, and great nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his father; George, mother; Wanda, and brother; Gregory.
Matt, we will miss your steady hand, consistency, kindheartedness, generosity, and your ability to fix anything. We will miss your long-detailed stories, your Mattisms, your world-famous margaritas and seeing you wear shorts and Birkenstocks even when it’s freezing out. Thank you for touching our lives and for everything we have gotten to share with you. With sincere gratitude for the time and experiences we’ve had, and with great sorrow and sadness to lose you, until we see you again, we will just leave you with this…
We love you and we’ll be here, “Hangin’ out lookin’ cool.”
A celebration of his life will be held at on Sunday December 8, 2024 at 1pm at
Hillside Events
12400 West Denton Road
Denton, Nebraska
***Additionally, the family would like to invite all friends and family to join them at the Zoo Bar in downtown Lincoln, on Saturday Dec 7, 2024 at 4pm. ***
In lieu of flowers, memorials can be sent to Espanola Humane https://www.espanolahumane.org/donate/
Please note “Matt Joy” as the honoree.
If you would like to: send an anecdote, memory or short story about Matt send it to the following email:
sberegister@gmail.com