Joyce Lucille Armstrong

Joyce was born in Sacramento, California to Archie Monte and Lee Ola Carson. She preferred to be called “Joy,” which was the perfect descriptor for her positive, glass-half-full outlook. She grew up with her younger brother, Kit, in both metropolitan Los Angeles and rural Kerby, Oregon. She graduated from Washington High School in Los Angeles at the age of 16, with a concentration in secretarial skills and journalism. She gained a top-secret clearance and worked as an FBI secretary for a year before marrying her high school sweetheart Dick on June 19, 1955. In the midst of touring with Dick and his brother Bob’s musical group, she gave birth to her first daughter, Kim. Kerry and Kathy soon followed, and Joy masterfully balanced being a mom, supporting Dick’s entrepreneurial efforts, and earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from California State University Long Beach. After a second round of entertainment industry life, Joy partnered with Dick to buy their first Taco Bell franchise in Santa Ana, California on June 13, 1974. Together they grew the family business to 24 restaurants over 40 years and added an award winning Uniglobe Travel Agency for 15 years along the way.

Joy loved to travel with Dick, and they explored every state and continent except Antarctica. Their favorite escapes were to the mountains of Mammoth Lakes and the shores of Maui. Joy creatively made every house she occupied into a cozy home, including the Newport Beach retreat where many have been invited to unwind for the past 30 years. She has enjoyed ice skating, dancing, playing piano, sewing, and reading. But nothing gave her greater delight than caring for her grandchildren and great grandchildren, and celebrating milestones with family, like her 70th wedding anniversary last year.

Above all of her accomplishments and experiences, the legacy that Joy most wanted us to embrace was her unwavering faith in God, her intimate relationship with Jesus Christ, and her obedient surrender to the Holy Spirit that cultivated her to overflow with gratitude, forgiveness, selflessness, perseverance, wisdom, love, and especially her namesake, joy. She would want each of us to receive God’s hope from her favorite Scripture, Psalm 23: “Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of The Lord forever!”

Joy is survived by her husband Richard Barry (Dick) Armstrong, daughters Kerry (Jon) Ellen Bunning and Kathy (Gunnar) Jo Andersen, grandchildren Brenda (Armand) Jo Banfill, James (Jenny) William Bunning, Thomas Richard Bunning, Ian Richard Andersen and Dylan (Tara) Kare Andersen, and great-grandchildren Jacob Armand Banfill and Jasmine Jo Banfill. She was predeceased by her sister Gay Lee Carson, her brother Jimmy Kit Carson, and her daughter Kim (Robert) Lucille Alexander.