Joyce Stamp Lilly

A native Rhode Islander, after graduating from the University of Rhode Island, College of Nursing, Joyce Stamp Lilly spent several years traveling and living in Europe. In 1982, she was an RN at Butler Hospital in Providence when Ralph arrived bringing the new science of Behavioral Neurology. It was almost love at first sight, followed by 9 years in Rhode Island, during which time she attended Boston University School of Law.

Moving with Ralph to Houston, Texas in 1991, Joyce summoned her adaptability powers, bought cowboy boots and a Suburban, and she and Ralph shared 30 wonderful years as Texans in Houston and Washington On the Brazos where she was active in community events. She has been a plaintiff attorney and now represents nurses under investigation by state Boards of Nursing.

Joyce returned to Providence in 2023; she lives  with her Westie, Franki, and her two cats, within a mile of where her life with Ralph began.  Their lives were graced with good karma, fortuity and serendipity, for which she is, and Ralph was, forever grateful.

Second Lives: The Journey of Brain Injury Survivors and Their Healers is written by Dr. Lilly and Diane F. Kramer. After his death in 2021, Kramer completed the book with the assistance of Lilly’s wife Joyce Stamp Lilly. This memoir weaves together Ralph Lilly’s experience with a collage of stories about his patients and their healers. After his recovery, Lilly retrained in the emerging field of behavioral neurology, which focuses on behavior, memory, cognition, and emotion after brain injury.