Hale, Joe D. (a.k.a. “Buckeye”)

Born Jul 07, 1928
Died May 24, 2009

Hale, Joseph D. Joe resting in the arms of the Lord on Sunday, May 24, 2009 at the age of 81. Loving father of Cyrena (Mike) Koclanes, Rex (Ruth) Hale, Cindy (Craig) Reed, Eric (Nancy) Hale and Martin Hale; dear friend of Sue Hale; dear grandfather of Anna, Jason, Katrina, Shelly, Lillian, Jacob, Rex, Sydney and Carisa; our dear brother-in-law, uncle, great-uncle, cousin and friend of many. Joe was a veteran of WWII in the U.S. Navy. He was a chemistry teacher for University City High School for 26 years and 9 years at Cardinal Ritter College Prep. He was an Elder at New Life Presbyterian Church in Florissant and belonged to the Florissant Valley Barbershop Choir for many years.


One of his students hung the name of "Buckeye" on him and didn't tell Joe what it meant. Just before graduation, Joe asked him what was behind the nickname. We'll, by now the kid had learned what a great guy he was didn't want to tell him for fear of hurting his feelings. After much pleading by Joe the student told him. If you look in a dictionary under the word "Buckeye", you will read the description of a buckeye. It is : " a smooth-round-hairless- useless nut of no particular value."

Joe thought that was great and enjoyed many laughs telling the story.

     Gosh, Joe Hale. What can you say about a man that was a friend, mentor (in all sorts of ways), sponsored me into barbershopping, was one of your quartet (The Fortunes) buddies for almost 20 years (along with Paul Fair (Bari) (who has also passed on), John Spatafora (lead)) and not afraid to go camping in almost every kind of weather.

     2009 was the 50th Anniversary of the Florissant Chapter and for this year's show, we wanted to sing as a special tribute to Paul Fair and our quartet. We formed a revised quartet with Mark Devore as Bari, and sang a couple of our favorite songs: “When Sweet Susie Goes Steppin' By” and Paul Fair's favorite: “Dem Bones” which he always did narration patter. This time John did the narration patter.

     No matter where our quartet went, there was someone there that Joe knew – either Joe taught them as a student or knew them as a fellow teacher/instructor.

     Joe was never one “to retire”. Well, he got his wish, no matter how many times we would ask him when he was going to retire, he usually answered “someday but not right now” or something like “when I get tired”. He unofficially retired 4-5 times.

     Joe was also a one-of-a-kind Program VP. He has us doing some of the craziest things to make a fun time – just a little bit more. There was: sing a tag with Peanut Butter on a cracker in your mouth; the same idea but this time the cracker was already pre-stuck to the roof of your mouth; all one-part quartet (meaning all leads would have to form a quartet, then the other parts one by one)

     The show guest quartets never had a boring time with Joe around – they did just about everything.

     Along those same lines, the campout programs were never boring either.

     Joe you are going to be extremely missed. And I would not trade those 20 years in our quartet for anything.

Duaine Hechler (Tenor of The Fortunes)

     He was among my first men of note. Joe sold my house in Florissant and bought my chest freezer when we left in the spring of 1990. Joe was a good loyal member of the Florissant Valley Chapter. He was indeed a good barbershopper.
In Harmony,
Jack Martin
     I will always remember Joe Hale. He was the one who taught me the meaning of a "buckeye". I wish I had a quarter for every time I told someone what one was!
Jerry Martin (Son of Jack Martin)
As in the 2010 Show Program Book:
Unique . . .
Joe Hale was one of the most enthusiastic, upbeat people you could imagine. It was impossible to be in the same room with Joe and not have a smile on your face. He was a very caring person combined with the natural ability in the art of sales. He spent part of his career as a high school science teacher where he took great interest in the progress of his students.
He gravitated toward a sales career in real estate and securities. Joe took seriously the need to be involved with his church and found time to be quite active in barbershop activities as well. With both organizations he took a leadership position and was always ready to help the group or an individual in need.
Joe used his creativity to make things interesting for the rest of us when he was working with us. He was eager to sing whenever there was a group of guys available. The song “Caroline” will never be quite the same. He was a part of the Fortunes quartet for many years and sang with other quartets as the opportunity presented itself.
All of our guest quartets through the years remember Joe as a super host. He took his responsibility seriously and went out of his way to see that the visiting quartet had a great time while visiting the St. Louis area and that all their needs were met. They all went home after the show weekend with a positive feeling about Florissant and the great time they had while they were here.
Joe was the ultimate “people person” and a unique individual who lifted up those around him. We knew him as a friend who lived life to the fullest.