JOSEPH WILSON JR.

Joseph Henry Wilson, Jr., “Joe”, of Surprise, Ariz., died August 28, 2023, at Boone Hospital in Columbia, Mo. He was 83.

Joe was born on March 9, 1940, in Hurdland, Mo., to Rev. Henry and Christina Wilson. He graduated from Macon High School in 1958, where he met his first wife, Louise (Andews) Wilson.

Joe attended the Missouri State Highway Patrol Academy in 1962.  His first assignment as a Highway Patrolman was in Canton, Mo.,, where he served for eighteen years.  Joe went on to serve on the patrol in St. Louis, Mo., and Rolla, Mo.

While working for the Highway Patrol, Joe attended Culver Stockton College, graduating in 1978 with a degree in Criminal Justice.  Joe also attended the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia in 1980.

Joe retired from the Highway Patrol in Rolla, Mo., on September 1, 1996 after marrying his second wife, Frances on July 6, 1996. They moved to Surprise, Ariz., and spent summers in Pinetop, Ariz.

He is survived by his wife, Frances Wilson of Surprise, Ariz.; his children, Julie Wilson of Jefferson City, Mo., and Ken Wilson of Mexico, Mo.; grandchildren: Jakob, Brooklyn, and Dylan Wilson;  Courtney, Ardnas, Lyric, Alexis, and Aaron Ballard; and great grandson, Ardnas Ballard, Jr.

He is also survived by four sisters and their spouses: Carolyn (Byron) Buker of Bedford, Ind.; Barbara Tayor of West Plains, Mo.; Margery (Richard) Waller of Macon, Mo.; and Linda (Vernon) Kincheloe of Columbia, Mo.

Family and friends are invited to a Celebration of Life, Saturday, September 9, 2023 at 11:30 a.m. at the First Church of the Nazarene, Macon, Mo. 

Visitation is prior to the service from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. 

Memorial donations can be made to The Masters (Missouri Association of State Troopers Emergency Relief Society) at https://secure.qgiv.com/for/mshpbfi