Joe Boswell

Joe Boswell 92, of Whitney passed away April 7, 2011 in Clifton.

Services will be held 2:30 p.m., Sunday, April 10, 2011 at Marshall & Marshall Funeral Directors in Whitney with interment to follow at Whitney Memorial Park. Visitation will be from 6-8 p.m. Saturday at Marshall & Marshall.

Joe Boswell was born on January 21, 1919 to the late George and Clara Lee Boswell, the eighth child of ten. He was preceded in death by 4 brothers, Clark, Ed “Bully”, Harlan “Cutter”, Larry, “Pistol” ,4 sisters, Imogene Bonds, Georgia “Tince” Brown, Florence “Cat” Reed, and Frances “Hoot” Halford.

He attended Liberty Hill School through the eighth grade and high school in Whitney. He served in World War II in North Africa and lineman in the 915th Signal Corps Depot Aviation. He returned to New York and hitchhiked home to Whitney. His hitchhiking experience made him never pass a hitchhiker without offering a ride.

Joe was a natural born farmer. He loved the black dirt and was totally content on a John Deere tractor plowing, planting, or harvesting. His idea of a vacation from his General Tire job was to be on the tractor hauling hay, plowing, picking cotton, or some other back breaking work. He relaxed by listening to Big Band music and the Stamps Quartet on the radio in his younger years.

When he was 37, he married Bertha Taylor, after he had the money to build their house, paying for it in cash which was how he bought everything he ever bought. At 92 years of age, he had never bought anything on credit. Bertha preceded Joe in death on December 25, 1999.

Together Joe and Bertha enjoyed Southern Gospel Singings. She made him take her to one, he heard a song he liked, bought a book and was hooked. He went on to be president of The Texas State Convention and the Hill County Singing Convention hosting a singing the first weekend in May with a “singing in his barn”.

Though Joe and Bertha had no children, he was a wonderful uncle, delighting in his 19 nieces and nephews and their children. He was everyone’s “favorite uncle”. He taught most of them how to drive (at very early years) both cars and tractors. He spent many hours teaching kids to ride horses, drive cars, pickups and tractors to the sometimes horror of their mothers.

Joe was also everyone’s friend. A totally unselfish, generous, helping friend. He would loan out his car, trailers, tractor and equipment to anyone, often not knowing who had what. That doesn’t even mention the money he loaned to keep so many going when down on their luck.

Joe had a marvelous, sometimes mischievous sense of humor . He was the strongest, hardest working man matched perhaps only by his brothers. Joe will be missed by his adoring nieces, nephews and a host of loving friends.

He is survived by one sister, Dell Bonds of Hillsboro.

Memorials may be made to Whitney Memorial Park, Whitney Area Museum, Missionary Baptist Church or the Clifton Lutheran Sunset Home.