Joe Venton Jenkins, 99 of Adrian, Missouri passed away peacefully on Wednesday, October 25, 2023 at Medicalodges in Butler, Missouri surrounded by his family. Memorial services will be held at 2:00 PM Saturday, November 11, 2023 at the Adrian Christian Church in Adrian, Missouri. Burial will take place at the Missouri Veterans Cemetery, in Higginsville, MO at a later date. Arrangements entrusted to Mullinax Funeral Home, Butler (660-679-0009). In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are suggested to the Wounded Warrior Project. Messages of condolence may be left for the family at www.mullinaxfuneralhome.com.
Joe Venton Jenkins was born March
9, 1924 in Kansas City, KS to Ollie and Vibert Jenkins.
After high school he joined the
United States Navy. He served in late WW2 and part of the Korean War in the
Pacific. He was an aviation electrician's mate on the carrier U.S.S. Admiralty
Islands.
In 1946 he married, and then went
to work for Pacific Bell telephone company. In about 1951 he moved his
family to a 100 year old house that sat on twenty acres in Blue
Springs, MO. After that Joe went to work for Southwestern Bell telephone company
and worked as a repairman, lineman, and installer.
Joe transitioned from Bell to a longtime partnership in a
construction company laying underground cables. His crews went the extra mile
for him, working in some very scary locations. Over mountain crests in
Colorado, under any and all bridges, through poison ivy filled creek banks,
they once bored under the Mississippi River in St. Louis, and across lots of
empty miles of western and mid-western prairie. He was very happy on those
prairies. For several years he had a pilot license.
Joe retired several years ago when
his partner, Thurman Stout sold out. He farmed on 40 acres just down 18
high-way in Adrian. He built a gorgeous log cabin made from logs trucked in
from Colorado, and was content there for many years.
He sold his farm about 6 or 7 years
ago and bought 42' of luxury living on the road, also known as “The Bus”. He
would hook up a 20' trailer behind it to haul his four-wheeler and Ford truck.
Off he went every winter to Texas or Arizona. He told stories about parking in
some sketchy places, but nothing scared Joe.
Four years ago a stroke ended all
of his travels, and he needed full time care. He bought a motorized cart, and
was able to go just about anywhere he wanted in it. Joe loved that chair.
Several part time helpers cared for him, but 2 years ago he moved in with
Pastor Rodney Albert and wife Lisa, in Holden, MO. Rodney and Lisa came to love
Joe and they became family to him.
Time and age crept up on him in
April of this year, and he needed more intensive care so he moved to
Medicalodge of Butler Care Center.
Joe started slipping away on
October 24. On October 25th 2023 he died peacefully in his sleep with family at
his side.
Joe is survived by 6 children Cheryl
True of Holden, MO, Leslie and husband Ben, of Independence, MO, Frank
Jenkins and wife Linda of Lee's Summit, MO, Theron Jenkins and wife
Theresa of Odessa, MO, Stacy Jenkins and wife Martha of Omaha, NE, and Joseph
Jenkins, one step-son, and multiple grandchildren and great grandchildren, his
sister June Ray, of Adrian, many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by Brother
Lynn Jenkins. Sister Greta Preston, and parents V.A. and Ollie Jenkins.
Joe was highly regarded by people
in his working life. Many many people have told his family how much they
thought of him.
A plot has been reserved for him at
the Missouri Veterans Cemetery, Higginsville, MO. His ashes will be placed
there soon, and there will be a burial with full military honors. Notices will
be sent out to family and friends that would like to attend.
We suspect Joe is two-stepping his
way through Heaven. Boots on his feet, western hat on his head.
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