Joyce was born and raised in Fitzgerald, Georgia.  She attended Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, Tennessee; then, she briefly taught grade school and high school in Fitzgerald. She applied for a biological technician position at the Beaufort Laboratory and was hired in 1955; she initially worked for the Lab Director, Dr. Chipman. Her Lab duties involved sampling fishes and invertebrates and rearing algae cultures for the Shellfish Section of the Lab. Joyce was promoted to a Fishery Biologist position. Later, Joyce worked for Dr.