The loss of an important figure at San José State was mourned on Wednesday.

Eva Joice, former senate administrator for the Academic Senate at SJSU, unexpectedly passed away after a brief undisclosed illness in June.

Her husband, Patrick Joice, was the first to speak at her celebration of life memorial, held at the Diaz Compean Student Union.

“She was devoted to everything in her life,” Patrick Joice said. “I just want everybody to know how devoted Eva Joice was to her home and to her family.”

Patrick Joice said Eva Joice took great care of both himself and their daughter, Samantha.

Her husband said though Eva Joice was “stubborn as a mule,” she was always an extremely kind person.

Ravisha Mathur, former Academic Senate chair from 2019 to 2021, also spoke at the memorial and had many kind words to say regarding Eva Joice.

“(Eva Joice) has been one of my biggest supporters and champions, and who — in every sense of the word — was a friend and a mentor to me for the past 15 years,” Mathur said. “I find it very hard to put into words the depth of our loss and the magnitude of the void left behind by Eva (Joice’s) sudden passing.”

In the rest of her speech, Mathur made sure to focus on the good things she remembered about Eva Joice instead of her grief.

“She was my very first contact with the senate process and procedure, and she was gentle and kind,” Mathur said. “She showed every day that people came first.”

He said Joice was one “tough cookie,” similar to the way her husband described.

Mathur said Joice was stubborn about sticking to senate procedure, which she knew the in’s-and-out’s of, as well as the history of past interpretations of those rules.

“What I learned was that toughness, that resilience was part of Eva Joice’s enthusiasm and deep passion for the senate,” Mathur said. “She went above and beyond, and she even donated her own personal money to the senate.”

Stefan Frazier, another one of Eva Joice’s former senate chair, had more to say about Eva Joice.

“Eva (Joice) saved us all the time by reminding us of things we needed to accomplish as the chair,” Frazier said. “What I noticed most regularly at senate meetings was how diligently she sat at the front of the room taking minutes.”

Frazier said Eva Joice was the most approachable person in the room when she was there, and when he was the new senate chair, she was the first person he talked to about the role.

He said whenever someone spoke to Eva Joice, she would always greet them with a smile.

“I really learned to appreciate (her) smile and the goodness that went with it,” Frazier said. “We’ll miss that smile beaming from the front of the senate chamber, and we’ll miss the work that (she) put into all that (she) did.”

Alison McKee, another past Academic Senate chair from 2021 to 2023, also said her experience with Eva Joice was quite positive.

During McKee’s time as senate chair, she developed sepsis and nearly died.

“On the turn of a dime, my duties and assigned time as senate chair had to be quickly and officially parceled out,” McKee said.

She said Joice had to do what three people previously had to do to act in the chair’s position when McKee needed to recover from her medical issues.

“To have to support a senate chair position split among three people . . . honestly that’s my idea of hell times three, and Eva (Joice) stepped up,” McKee said. “I could not have done the job of senate chair without her.”

Reiko Kataoka, past associate vice chair from 2022 to 2024, also weighed in with her speech about Joice.

“She made the Senate (feel) like one big family who enjoy working with each other (and) being in the senate events and meetings,” Kataoka said. “Everyone (knew) Eva (Joice) as the ‘Cornerstone of the senate.’ ” 

Kataoka also said the reason why Joice was so strict on following senate procedure was because she did not want someone’s hard work to be thrown out just because it didn’t follow procedure.

Judith Lessow-Hurley, past Academic Senate chair from 2006 to 2008, gave the final planned speech about Eva Joice at the celebration. 

Hurley said Joice and her husband “always had (her) back,” which contributed to their lasting friendship.

“Even though I had an enduring friendship, she was a fine colleague and a wonderful, loving and loyal friend,” Hurley said.