John Joseph III passed away on July 7, 2013. Visitation will occur Thursday, July 11th from 6 to 8 p.m. at Roselawn Funeral Home. A funeral service will be held the morning of Friday, July 12th at 10 a.m. at Annunciation of the Lord Catholic Church. Burial will follow in Roselawn Cemetery.
Mr. Joseph was born April 22, 1946, in Decatur to Joe and Mary Agnes Hannie Joseph. After graduating from Decatur High School and earning an undergraduate degree, Mr. Joseph gained admission to several law schools. Rather than attending law school, he responded to his father’s request to help manage Joseph’s Grocery and later earned a real estate license. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus.
Mr. Joseph was married to his beloved wife, Mary Anne Barran Joseph for 20 years until her passing in 1998. He is survived by his sons, Charles Anthony Joseph and John Joseph IV; his granddaughters, Elizabeth Claire Joseph and Juliet Grace Joseph; and siblings, Toby Joseph, Charlotte Williams, Madeline Layton, Tim Joseph, Theresa Joseph and Cecilia Joseph.
Mr. Joseph will be remembered for his faith in God, total devotion to his family, wry sense of humor and quiet persistence, despite a multitude of serious health problems. His children will forever honor him, and his grandchildren will surely miss the one who always made them smile and whom his eldest, Claire, lovingly called her “Little Grandfather.”