In the late 50's, when I was a young boy and Joe was my older brother, we shared a bed with the youngest son of the family, Tim. There were 6 kids with 3 bedrooms, one for our sister Mary Jane, one for the twins, Lee and Bill and one for me, Tim and Joe. Sharing a single bed in the winter in an old country house reveals a person's character. So I can confirm what many have seen. Joe was kind, generous and protective of the young and vulnerable.

There is an old apple tree in the yard between our home in Independence and the Baptist church. Once I climbed that tree very high looking to grab a ripe apple on a top branch, and I got stuck. I was about 9 or 10 years old, and too scared to climb down. Tim was there on the ground below and ran to the house to get help. I remember feeling Joe's presence behind me as he climbed up and gave me the courage to climb down. Thank God, I can still feel that presence now.