Joyce (Cox) Roy was born in Champaign, Illinois, on October 30, 1934, to parents George and Lucille Cox. She studied architecture at Pennsylvania State University from 1953 to 1956 and graduated from Washington State University with a Bachelor of Architectural Engineering in 1959. In 1974, Roy was certified by the University of the State of New York Education Department to practice architecture in the State of New York. Joyce Roy specialized in apartment renovations, family residences, furniture, and interior design.

In 1961, Joyce Roy moved to India with her family, where she worked for eight years. She worked as an assistant architect for Heavy Engineering Corporation in Ranchi, India, from October 1962 to October 1963, during which Roy was responsible for designing low-rise apartments, low-cost housing, other private residences, and a primary school. From 1963 to 1969, she was self-employed, and worked as project architect on a hospital re-design in Coorg, and as furniture and residential designer. She also designed an exhibition pavilion for crafts and furniture in Hyderabad.

After a brief stint working as a consultant for the Ford Foundation in New Delhi, Roy returned to New York with her family. Upon her return, Joyce Roy worked as a project architect at Oppenheimer, Brady & Vogelstein from 1971 to 1974. Roy began teaching basic carpentry and cabinetmaking classes in 1972 and registered her teaching business as Space Constructs. Eventually Space Constructs evolved into an architecture and design cooperative, and its office opened in New York City in 1986. After the company dissolved in 1992, Joyce Roy moved to Oakland, California, and worked as a designer at David Wade Byrens from 1993 to 1994. Following this time, she worked various jobs as consultant, project manager, and freelance designer. From 1995 to 1999 she taught a "Portable Powertools for Beginners" class at the Building Education Center in Berkeley, CA. She became engaged with local transit organizations and advocated for improved public transit, smart growth, and historic preservation. She died July 11, 2018.

Sources: "Women in Architecture." The New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. New York City, 1974. "Board Memos, Joyce Roy." AC Transit Board Memos, Joyce Roy, 2009 February. https://www.actransit.org/website/uploads/board_memos/a16-roy.pdf. "Joyce Marguerite Roy, 1934-2018." Obituary, East Bay Times, 2018 August 29. https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/eastbaytimes/name/joyce-roy-obituary?pid=190065945.