Mr. Joseph “Joe” Webb, age 62, of Rome, GA and formally of Cedartown passed away Thursday, April 5, 2018 in a Rome hospital after a lengthy illness. Joseph was born in Atlanta, GA on October 30, 1955 a son to the late Harden and Rebecca Webb. Joseph Harden Webb, or Joe as we all knew him, was an exceptional and devoted friend to so many.
If you were his friend, you knew it well. He would never ever forget a special day – your birthday, Christmas, and so many other important days of the year. Even when he would be short on cash and struggling financially at the end of the month, if it was your birthday, he’d use what little money he had to send you a card.
Loyalty like that is rare anymore, and he had this quality in great measure. To know Joe was to never forget him. He loved people and always had such a heart for the less fortunate or those who might be struggling in some way.
His compassion ran deep and was expressed in so many ways – a hearty wave, a beautiful hello, a sweet, funny phone call, even a hymn sung as a voice mail – these were the things we all knew about this wonderful person we will continue to love forever. To have Joe in your life was to have a much brighter day. Joe could tease and joke with you better than almost anyone I’ve ever known.
He loved to create a funny scenario with you and then play around going back and forth with hilarious words and phrases. He was endlessly fun and funny to talk to. But he could be serious, too, and he cared about a great many important things, and we always had a lot to discuss – especially when there was some sort of injustice or cruelty that had played out in his life or on a national level.
He understood human nature amazingly well. And he knew what made people tick, for the good or for the bad. Joe’s memory for details was truly amazing.
Just recently he told me he remembered every detail about when I told him I was pregnant with my first child in May of 1985. That was almost 33 years ago! I will forever remember that he remembered this milestone in my life – and I only found out about it recently.
His mind was sharp as a tack, especially if it had something to do with a person he loved. You knew you were loved if Joe was in your life! Joe loved animals.
Especially his little dog, Bobo. He had a soft spot for all furry creatures, and the writings of James Herriott, author of “All Creatures Great and Small,” was a favorite. He also loved to read Guideposts magazine because of its stories of people and faith.
Classic old TV shows and Lucille Ball were his lifelong passion. Joe loved God. His whole life reflected that, and he loved God’s people – no matter the race or nationality.
He didn’t see people’s color. At all. We talked about our faith probably most of all.
He would tell me wonderful stories about his church family, all of whom he loved so much. It was so special to see how this love came back to him too. It warmed my heart each time I heard about an all-night prayer service or a big church celebration for a young girl or boy.
Joe knew he was loved by his church family and it gave him great joy and stability. From age 25 on, our friend lived without his beloved mom, Rebekah, the daughter of missionaries to Korea. He was good to his dad, too, checking up on Harden as his father became quite old and faced so many medical problems of his own.
His dad outlived three wives, and Joe observed his father’s love and devotion to each of these three women. Joe had that same loving devotion to all he loved as well. Life wasn’t easy for him.
Not by a long shot. When he lost his leg in a horrible hit and run accident on April 2, 1989, Joe suffered terribly. From that time on, he was confined to a wheelchair and struggled physically and financially.
Joe moved to Cedartown from Michigan after finding his “birth family,” and asked a dear friend, Jerri, to find him a home to rent. She and another of Joe’s friends found a little house on 6th St., painted it inside and out, and even built him a wheelchair ramp. The house had a big front porch with family members living close by.
He was happy there and made it his business to make other people happy in his longtime job as a Walmart Greeter. No matter where Joe lived, whether in Cedartown, Rome, Los Angeles, Michigan, or Florida, he had friends and was a friend. Joe was a man of perseverance and he made it his objective in life to spread good cheer and love wherever he went, even while in that wheelchair moving about on the streets of Cedartown or Rome.
It seems that he became a kind of hero around town. It’s not surprising. So many people knew about Joe, and even if you didn’t know him personally, you knew he was kind, friendly, encouraging, and endlessly approachable.
As my dad would say, “He was a people person”. What a special soul. Joe loved the Spanish community.
He loved the Spanish people’s devotion to one another and their generous willingness to help each other in any way possible. He felt like he was one of their own and cherished their acceptance and love. We discussed often the changes that have taken place in American culture over the years, some not for the good.
Joe hated our nation’s growing violence and its departure from Christian values. He was a sharp observer of the news and we always talked about what was going on in the world. We also had hundreds of conversations about the days of our childhood and the challenges we faced living in a small town like Oviedo.
We were children of teachers and the town’s banker and sometimes it wasn’t easy living in a fishbowl. I always sensed that Joe struggled with the negatives this brought him, but I also knew he clung hard to his faith in Jesus, even when long ago bad memories revisited him often. Today, those of us who knew and loved Joe, can’t believe he has slipped away so fast.
Somehow, this brave soul we all admired, who faced death as a young adult when he lost his leg and sustained a head injury and then overcame colon cancer 8 years ago, decided to keep quiet when his health struggles resurfaced again. It seems none of us really knew he was struggling so intensely. But God knew.
And Joe was ready. Joe had pretty much been ready for years to meet Jesus face to face. And now he has.
In the meantime, we who are still here are very, very grateful to have known this wonderful man who stood tall, even while in a wheelchair for so many years. We’ll see you in heaven, Joe – brother, friend, Christian brother, and God’s special son. *By Christine Schneider.
Survivors include half-brother, Randy Jackson of Cedartown, several cousins and many dear friends. Graveside funeral and Interment services will be held Tuesday, April 10, 2018 at 4:00 PM in Polk Memory Gardens with Rev. Julio Castillo officiating.
The Smith & Miller Funeral Home of Cedartown is honored to serve the family and friends of Mr. Joseph “Joe” Webb.
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