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NEW CANAAN, Conn. Meredith Ann Joyce, a New Canaan native, died of burns and smoke inhalation on June 21 after a home she was visiting in Berkeley, Calif. caught fire, according to the published reports. She was 26.
The fire broke out at 2:36 a.m. in the basement of a Victorian-style home, authorities said. Joyce was found unresponsive in the third-floor attic and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Born and raised in New Canaan, Joyce attended West Elementary School and graduated from Saxe Middle School in 2003. She also participated in the Children's Theatre in New Canaan. She moved to Piedmont, Calif. in 1997 where she attended Millennium High School. She went on to graduate from the College of Du Page in Glen Ellyn, Ill.
Known to close friends and family as "Mer," Joyce had a passion for elegant food and drink and worked in the food services industry in Illinois and California. She also enjoyed spending time with friends, playing piano and singing. She was most recently of Oakland, Calif.
Joyce is survived by her mother Julie Bartlett of Piedmont, her father Leonard Joyce of Naples, Fla., a brother Bill Joyce of Capitola, Calif., her grandfather George Fox of Frisco, Texas, her grandmother Peggy Laz of Naples, her stepfather Michael Bartlett of Piedmont, two sisters Kera and Alexa Bartlett of Washington, D.C., and many close friends, aunts, uncles and cousins.
A memorial service and reception will be held at 5 p.m. Friday at Piedmont Community Center in Piedmont.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to "Town Players Of New Canaan," P.O. Box 201, New Canaan, CT 06840.
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