Joseph E. Pevey Jr.

Jumpin Joe Pevey, known to his grandchildren as the inventor of the color red & the owner of the world’s smallest elephant, has finally concocted his last outlandish story. In truth we all knew that it would take death to make this man stop making things up. To his credit (and we can only brag about him now that he is dead) he spent years doing what he referred to as “bone crushing work” at Exxon Refinery, he was a master woodworker, a superb chef, a glass blower, a jack of all trades, a first generation spatchcocker and we once saw him catch a giant gar fish with his bare hands. He’s the only person known to actually use the Pythagorean theorem in real life while building a roof, he could tie a double figure eight knot, and he could read the smart end of a tape measure…the list could go on and on. 

 He will be greatly missed by his wife of 58 years, sweet Suzy Q, but she is also secretly grateful to not have to clean up after him any longer. We are not sure how we will live without him… Who will we call when something is broken? Who will cook us cathead biscuits on Sunday morning? Who will bite the top off of our Dairy Queen chocolate dipped ice cream cones before we eat them? 
 What we are sure of is that he left each of us full of love and with many great memories that we will laugh about for ages. Like that time he tried to drive an 80’s Ford diesel van through the redwood tree tunnel and everyone except Todd abandoned ship…or the time he was sighting in a new bow & arrow and literally missed the entire broad side of the barn with his son in law there (fortunately) to witness it. Oh the stories we can tell.

Those who will miss PopPop the most and have the very best stories to tell about him include his wife, Suzanne Pevey, his daughter Erin Pevey Babin & husband Jason, his son, Todd Pevey & wife Andy, his extraordinary grandchildren Allen Babin, Conlie Banker, Mae Babin, Mason Pevey & Winslow Myer, and the best-behaved schnauzer in all the land, Tedi (but Joe called her Leroy). 
 He taught us to walk quietly in the woods, to wholeheartedly believe in aliens, to spot a bullfrog at night on the banks of the river, to soak up both a thunderstorm and a sunset, to tell people you love that you love them, and to make the most of the lifetime that you are given. We loved him so much. We still do.

Our family would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Dr. Daniel LaVie, Heather Burns, and nurses Penelope, Caitlyn, Scotty, Kimiko and Bryce for their support and guidance. A private memorial service will be held for immediate family. In lieu of flowers please consider donating to the Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center in memory of Jumpin Joe Pevey.