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Joy, Robert D.
Robert D. Joy, 79, died Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2009, at home from leukemia. Services: 10 a.m. Saturday at Lutheran Church of the Resurrection, Marion, by Pastor Dennis Johnson. The family will greet friends from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday at Murdoch Funeral Home and Cremation Center, Marion. Interment: Mount Calvary Cemetery, Cedar Rapids.
Survivors include his wife, Linda; son, Brian (Kris) Joy of Altoona, and their two children, Nathan and Matthew; daughter, Linda (Cliff) Schmidt of Pleasant Prairie, Wis., and their two children, Andrew and Natalya; and two sisters, Betty White of Omaha, Neb., and Virginia (Bill) Bruch of Independence, Mo.
He was preceded in death by his parents.
Bob was born May 5, 1930, in Hardin, Mo., to Tom and Grace (Mansur) Joy. He attended Central High School in Hardin and the University of Missouri, graduating with a B.S. degree in electrical engineering in 1953. He served in the Army Signal Corps for two years, primarily at White Sands Proving Ground in New Mexico during the last part of the Korean conflict. On June 3, 1956, he married Ruth Ann Winkler of Monticello. Two children, Linda and Brian, were born to this union. They were later divorced. On July 28, 1990, Bob married Linda Rink.
Bob was employed by Collins Radio from 1953 to 1965. Following this, he was the co-founder of J-Tec Associates in Cedar Rapids. Bob was awarded 14 U.S. patents and 12 foreign patents and was a member of IEEE and ARRL. His hobby was amateur radio, where he held the call WØEAN, and had confirmed contact with over 330 foreign countries. Bob said his proudest achievement was starting a company that has employed an average of 30 people for 40 years. His other “claims to fame” include walking the Great Wall of China, steering an aircraft carrier, flying at twice the speed of sound, viewing the bottom of the ocean in a two-man submarine, and traveling to approximately 25 foreign countries.
In lieu of flowers, a memorial fund has been established in Bob's memory.
The family wishes to thank Dr. Ghosh and his great staff, and also the staff at St. Luke's “Five Center” for their care. Please sign the online guest book for Bob at under obituaries.
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