1944-2025
Honoring Joe A. Gayle Jr
I’ve heard the testimonies from those he impacted. Sharing their stories and proclaiming their loss.
I believe their words have left me troubled to find mine.
He had many more than (2) sons and several daughters old & new that would lay claim to his role in their lives.
A good life by any measure.
I’ve discovered more about him in the last few days through the stories of those he worked with, clients that loved him, subcontractors that credited him solely for their success, friends of mine that would further lay claim to his role in their lives.
A good life by any measure.
He spoke often of his follies joking on how things would have been different, should have been different, if only he’d……a short pause followed by a humble chuckle.
He'd never dwell outwardly and would speak of these follies with a type of pride most could not understand.
The police road block he ran because he was late to his prom. He didn’t make the prom.
A girls dormitory raid, cutting the power to the gymnasium during a state basketball tournament, something to do with a greased pig and his dismissal from ABAC in Tifton.
Inheriting a car and giving it away only to discover it was an antique worth many thousands in the 70’s.
Founding a restaurant and giving it away for reasons beyond our knowing a mere four years later.
Numerous invitations & opportunities to partner in successful endeavors. All honorably declined.
Follies in retrospect but stories he told between chuckles.
A good life by any measure
He loved quietly, when shared.
He honored consistently, even to a fault.
He was silent when others were obliged to shout.
He would act swiftly & instinctively when others hesitated.
He was a first responder before responders were first.
He was the path of least resistance and the yielder of chaos smashed together in one package.
A good man by any measure.
He was a horticulturist but more.
A stone mason, a carpenter, a golf course designer, an architect, an artist, an engineer, a builder, and so much more.
As an architect, he needed no scale.
As a designer, he instinctively knew what would work.
As a sculptor of land, he knew things onlookers didn’t know,,,,,,yet.
He was a patriarch that sacrificed all for family, his contractors, his suppliers, his people.
To ask was to receive and our family was wealthy beyond dollars, even when poor.
A good man by any measure.
His animals adored him.
A gentle lap, a safe spot to rest their heads, a guaranteed treat, a rock that would roll for them all.
He knew what it meant to be loved by nature.
His siblings were his best friends, his confidants, his anchors.
Their spouses adopted, their kids,,, his!
He was the father that we sought approval from, as recent as last week.
He was the artistic dreamer whose canvas was always smaller than needed.
A good life by any measure.
He’d sachet’ in like Zeus in a rainstorm.
Tossing thunderbolts around a job site with chaos in stride.
Holstered in his vest were his trusty yellow legal pad heavily creased with drawing indentations from the day's prior visit and the flavor of the day pen.
He’d scribble out what most onlookers would see as architectural gibberish without a straight edge and to no known scale, rip that page off handing it to one of his trusted implementors with a confidence far exceeding that of the recipient. Somehow, when his graphic gibberish was implemented, it worked and any carnage from his thunderbolts became just what the customer was looking for.
An interesting man by any measure.
We’d like to invite any and all to share stories like the one above. There are so many and our family would love to hear them or even live them again through your words.
Join us in celebrating the life of our father, a husband, an uncle, grandfather, brother, and son.
Joe, Ted, and Sylvia Gayle
