Kelly Jo Peck died in 1983, a victim of leukemia.
But Wednesday morning, 71-year-old Jack Joyce’s eyes brimmed with tears as he thought about Peck – his niece – who valiantly fought the disease and graduated from high school before succumbing.
Joyce reached an enviable milestone Wednesday, donating his 400th pint of blood and reaching 50 gallons in blood donations.
Joyce had donated before Kelly Jo was stricken with leukemia, but her illness caused him to ramp up his donations.
“That’s when I got real serious,” the retired IBM software engineer said. “She had at least 85 transfusions, and she got great comfort from them. It’s been all these years, but I still haven’t gotten over it.”
Joyce became the 10th donor in the Bonfils Blood Center data bank of 700,000 to reach the 50-gallon milestone.
Jessica Maitland, vice president of marketing and community development for the Bonfils Blood Center, called Joyce’s contribution “an unbelievable achievement.
“We like to take every opportunity to celebrate with our 50-gallon donors,” Maitland said. “He started donating in 1964, and it’s a huge milestone.”
“We are so pleased with your efforts,” she told Joyce. “We thank you, and the community thanks you as well.”
Maitland presented Joyce with a diamond lapel pin to honor his achievement.
The 85 transfusions that Kelly Jo Peck received were platelet transfusions. Knowing this, Joyce wanted to help others like his niece and has given platelet donations up to 24 times a year since the late 1980s.
Currently, his donations are credited to Fort Carson, which he said needs it because so many of the troops are away.
Joyce was jovial but a little surprised by all the attention.
He joked that his blood pressure – 140 over 80 – was “screaming” because of everything going on. Usually it runs 110 over 60.
He has stayed in great shape over the years, usually running 3 miles a day and entering 10K runs.
Joyce said he has no plans to stop his donations.
“My life has been good, and the community has been good to me,” Joyce said. “This is a way to give back to the community.”
He said that giving blood is “so easy” and “the environment is so pleasant” at the Bonfils Denver West office.
Occasionally, he will get an unpleasant sensation when the needle enters “but I don’t look.
“I do it because people need it,” he said.
Staff writer Howard Pankratz can be reached at 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com.
