Joe Blow enjoyed knowing that his children and grandchildren had his curiosity and zest for life.
“He loved having kids around and having us all tell him what we’d been doing,” said his daughter, Mary Daugherty. “He’d always ask, ‘What’s your latest adventure?’ That was his approach to life – that it was a big adventure.”
W.C. “Joe” Blow died Sept. 7 at age 93 of complications from Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia.
He grew up the youngest of eight brothers, raised by a single mother in Prairie du Rocher, Ill.
“He drove a milk wagon, doing deliveries, when he was 13,” Mary said.
He lived for a time with a relative in St. Louis, working at a series of odd jobs.
“He worked at a place packing hams,” said Charlotte Blow, 70, his wife of almost 40 years. “He talked about how salt brine ate at the skin on his hands.”
The day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the 19-year-old enlisted in the Navy, where he was involved in a truck accident.
“It was during an air raid,” Charlotte said. “A fuel tanker backed up onto his leg and crushed it almost to the knee.”
He spent nine months in the hospital.
“It healed, but the nerves were all messed up,” Charlotte said. “Sometimes at night, he’d holler out with the pain.”
Mr. Blow had gotten married while on leave, and by the time he left the Navy, the couple had the first of five children. He worked a series of odd jobs, then went to work for Festus store owner Morris Goldman in 1955, moving up to manager by 1968.
Mr. Blow became active in civic and community groups. He was involved in the formation in 1962 of Public Water Supply District 12 in southern JeffersonCounty, and served as its president until 1969.
“I remember him going door-to-door trying to get support for it,” Mary said. “He spent a lot of time after hours or on weekends.”
Mr. Blow served on the boards of directors for several groups, he helped reinstate planning and zoning in the county and he was instrumental in the formation of the Joachim-Plattin Ambulance District in 1975.
In recognition of his community service, Mr. Blow was named Citizen of the Year by the Twin City Area Chamber of Commerce and was honored by the Jeffersonians, a local civic group.
“He got invited to different governors’ functions,” his wife said. “He was friends with (Speaker of the House) Tip O’Neill and was invited to Jimmy Carter’s inaugural ball.”
But Mr. Blow never lost sight of the importance of working for change in his own community.
“A family’s house would burn down and Dad would bring them to the house to stay until they could get on their feet,” Mary said. “He’d buy whatever they needed.”
Mr. Blow and his wife divorced in the 1970s. He met Charlotte, a divorcee with two young children, when she interviewed for a job at the store, now called Golde’s. The two were married in 1976.
“Helping your community, community loyalty – those things were very important to him. That was his focus,” Charlotte said.
The Blows were driving up Hwy. 61-67 that winter and came across a couple walking along the road.
“It was blowing snow and real cold,” she said. “The woman looked about eight months pregnant. Joe stopped the car, got them in the car and drove into town and pulled up in front of Golde’s.
“They said, ‘Sir, this store isn’t open,’ and he said, ‘Well, it will be in a minute.’ He got them coats and hats and scarves and gloves, then gave them money to eat and bus fare to St. Louis.”
She said this perfectly illustrates her husband’s giving spirit.
“He got a lot of big awards, but this story exemplifies how he did things that weren’t in the spotlight,” she said. “When he knew he could make a difference, that’s what he did.”
Mr. Blow left Golde’s in 1979 and became an insurance broker. He retired completely in 1995.
“He went to Cardinals games with us kids,” Mary said. “He loved reading; after he became blind he would get Talking Books.”
And he maintained his lively sense of humor.
“He was hilarious – always cracking jokes and one-liners,” Mary said. “And he’d laugh louder at himself than anybody else. That was Dad.”
Mr. Blow was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia in 2007.
He had several episodes of low blood pressure, and in August, he developed shortness of breath and wheezing.
“I called the VA and told them he was getting really weak,” Charlotte said. “They moved him onto hospice and he died peacefully in his sleep.”
Charlotte said she was moved by the military protocol at the hospital,
“When a veteran passes, they announce it over the intercom,” she said. “They drape the gurney with a beautiful flag, and everyone comes out and stands at attention with hands over hearts. It was very impressive.”
Mary said her father will be remembered for his strong work ethic, his passion for helping others and his ethical character.
“Doing the right thing. That was a theme of his,” she said.
Charlotte said he would want to be remembered most for his role as a parent.
“He was very proud of his kids,” she said. He loved them all and being a good father was more important to him than anything else.
He had a very tough last year but he was a very good man.”
“Life Story,” posted each Saturday on Leader Publications’ website, focuses on one individual’s impact on his or her community.