Individual Details

Death

Joe West passed away peacefully surrounded by his family on December 19, 2023, at the age of 91. Mr. West was born on July 28, 1932, in Sturgis, Mississippi. He was a loving and devoted husband, father, grandfather and friend. He moved to Jackson County in 1950's and remained a resident until the time of his death. He was a faithful and devoted Christian with profound knowledge and understanding of the Bible. He was a faithful member of Gautier First United Methodist Church for numerous years. During his life, he became involved with missionary services with Bethel Mission in Roma, Texas. He was an active member on the board of Bethel Mission until his retirement. Over the years, he was instrumental in the development of church and orphanage services in Roma and Mexico with Bethel Mission. He had great compassion for the less fortunate and underprivileged which drove his desire to assist this mission and their services. Mr. West was a member of the Pascagoula Fire Department in the 1960's. He served as a fire fighter until promoted to Fire Chief for the department. Once retired from the fire department in the early 1970's, he obtained his Real Estate Broker's license and formed Joe West Realty Inc. He was the owner and broker for his company for nearly 40 years until his retirement at the age of 81. During his time in the real estate industry, he was a respected businessman and known for his honesty, fairness and knowledge of the real estate industry. He was also known for mentoring anyone that was interested in learning and investing in real estate. He developed several residential subdivisions in the Jackson County area and took immense joy in being a "hands on" developer. He was a self-taught heavy equipment operator and most afternoons, he would be working on site, either clearing land or building roadways. Mr. West is preceded in death by his parents, Merritt & Lena West, his wife of 59 years, Jean Ganier West, brother, M. D. West, sisters Olene West & Inez Speir, son and daughter in law, John & Helen Furr and daughter and son in law, Deborah & Calvin Brooks. He is survived by his children, Cathie Stokes, Susan Bowman (Gary Bowman), Michael Furr, Julie Clark, Connie West (Andrew Jenne) and Paula Brister (Bruce Brister). Mr. West is also survived by eighteen grandchildren, thirty-one great grand children and three great great grandchildren. He has several close and devoted friends, Mrs. Marsha Myers, Mr. Elvin Smith, Mr. Rockey Hunt and Mr. Ron Waltman. The family would also like to extend a special thank you to several kind and caring ladies that were companions and caregivers for their father. He loved each of these ladies in his own way and was grateful for their kindness; Ms. Lisa Hacker, Ms. Carolyn West, Ms. Charlotte Tanksley, Ms. Vanessa Roberson and Ms. Sue Ann Busby. The Pall Bearers will be Patrick Aycock, Jason Brooks, Jeremy Brooks, Sam Brister, Jamie Brooks and Boe Parnell. Funeral services and burial arrangements will be held at the West Family Cemetery at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, December 23, 2023. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in his memory to Bethel Mission, P. O. Box 609, Roma, Tx 78584.