Joe V. Taylor

Early in the morning of Wednesday, October 14, 2026, Joe V. Taylor, aged 94, was called home to be with the Lord. There to meet him were his wife, Martha (Graham); his father, Robert; his mother, Thelma (Sweatt); his brothers, Doug, Jack, and Pete; his sister, Mattie; nephew, Jackie; and niece, Lisa. Left to carry on his traditions are his three children, James (Van or Jim) and wife, Kimberly of Gulfport, Mississippi; Patricia (Pat) of Charleston, Missouri; and Martin (Marty) and wife, Elma of Milton, Florida; two nephews (Steve Riley and Jack Davis) and a niece (Tanya Gullett). He was the proud Grandpa to nine grandchildren, 26 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild.

He was born to Robert V. and Thelma E. (Sweatt) Taylor January 28, 1932, at their home in Auburn, Kentucky. After serving in the United States Navy as a Marine Fireman and attending a machinist trade school, Joe became an accomplished master craftsman. He spent many years as a General Contractor building homes and hospitals across the Midwest. His talent led to multiple projects for the Army Corp of Engineers in both Tennessee and Florida.

His greatest joy was seeing his children and grandchildren succeed in their chosen careers (many in the military) around the world. When he wasn’t working, Joe loved fishing, relaxing on his cherished boat, hunting, and golfing. Joe never really retired in the “normal” sense from being a carpenter – even after losing most of his sight, he gave very specific advice to many younger carpenters on how to build or fix certain things -- these “younger carpenters” included his children and grandchildren!

Although not a full-time resident of Charleston Missouri, Joe visited often to spend time (especially the holidays) with his daughter, Pat, and a portion of his grands (great-grands) that call Charleston home: Jen and Ryan Ford (Evelyn, and Warren) and Patrick and Angela Miesner (Sophia, Samuel, Charlotte, Anna, Patrick Henry, Solomon, Benjamin, Abigail, and Miriam). In addition, the Charleston “crew” was joined by the Illinois “crew”: Christopher and Jill Miesner (Delaney, Brook Grohmann, Zach, Grohmann and Luke Grohmann) of Red Bud Illinois and Timothy and Alecia Miesner (Jonas and Josephine) of Belleville Illinois joining in the celebrations. Holidays would see Joe [literally] surrounded with love!

The family will hold a small graveside memorial on December 5, 2026, at the Auburn Cemetery in Auburn Kentucky.

Memorial contributions in honor of Mr. Joe Taylor may be given to The National Kidney Foundation (https://support.kidney.org/) or “Plant a Tree” through the Arbor Day Foundation (https://shop.arborday.org).