Bill Bailey Joseph

	 Bill Bailey Joseph, 70, of Carterville passed away suddenly at 3:57 p.m., Saturday, July 26, 2003 at Memorial Hospital of Carbondale.
	 Funeral services were held at 11:00 a.m., Thursday, July 31, 2003 at Meredith Funeral Home, Carbondale with Reverends John Annable and Kristen Madison officiating.  Entombment was at Pleasant Grove Memorial Park, Murphysboro.  Friends called from 5:00 until 8:00 p.m., Wednesday, July 30, 2003 at Meredith Funeral Home, Carbondale.  The Masonic service was held at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, July 30, 2003 at the funeral home.
	Bill was born February 28, 1933 in Cape Girardeau, Missouri to Roland Carr and Hazel Irene (Bailey) Joseph.  He married Phyllis Knight on June 26, 1955 in Carbondale.  
	Survivors include his wife of 48 years, Phyllis Joseph of Carterville; two sons and daughters-in-law, Dr. Bradford W. and Terri Joseph of Jacksonville, Florida and Captain Bruce W. and Debbi Joseph of Carbondale; two granddaughters, Jennifer Marie and Kara Nichole Joseph, both of Jacksonville, Florida; one brother and sister-in-law, Kent and Sharon Joseph, niece, Jane and nephew, John Joseph all of Scottsdale, Arizona; his mother-in-law, Dorothy Knight of Carbondale; and many loving aunts, uncles and cousins.
	Bill was preceded in death by his parents, R.C. and Hazel Joseph; his father-in-law, Ira Dennie Knight; and brother-in-law, Warner Knight all of Carbondale.
	Bill was a life-long Methodist and a loyal member of the First United Methodist Church in Carbondale.  He was very active at church where he served as head usher and was a member of various committees, including the Board of Trustees.    Bill was a Master Mason of the Shekinah Masonic Lodge #241 of Carbondale where he served as secretary for several years.  He loved to gather sponsors for the Gospel Sing held each December.  In the summer of 2002, he was invited and traveled to the Frankfurt, Germany Masonic Lodge as a U.S. Representative for their 50th anniversary celebration.  Throughout the 1980s, Bill was active in umpiring softball and baseball at both the state and local levels.  Bill was dedicated to the American Red Cross having been a faithful blood donor for many years and recently received a letter commending his achievement of donating over 10 gallons of blood.  Growing up, he earned the level of Eagle Scout with the Boy Scouts of America and attended the National
 Jamboree.
	Bill was a 1951 graduate of C.C.H.S., and developed life long friendships with his classmates and a very special camaraderie with his football and baseball team members.  He continued to enjoy those friendships though the socials of the class each week and each month.  Bill earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Business from SIU in 1955 and in 1965 he returned to earn a Masters Degree in Business.  Bill's employment record proudly included the ICRR with over ten years of service in the Traffic Department and the working as Sales Manager for Remington Rand in both Indianapolis, Indiana and St. Louis, Missouri.  Upon returning to Southern Illinois he worked as a salesman for Stile's Office Equipment, and later joined Spartan Printing Company where he retired in the late 1900s.
	Bill was truly a patriotic American who supported the U.S. Military and loved "Old Glory";  his support of the Tom Hanks WWII Memorial was the catalyst for several names from Carbondale being placed on the memorial.  His hobbies included researching genealogy and spending time with his family where he especially enjoyed watching his granddaughters play basketball and softball.  Bill was a very giving person and loved talking to and helping people in any capacity he could.  To that end, he was an organ donor as his final gift to mankind.
	In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the First United Methodist Church, 214 W. Main, Carbondale, IL 62901 or Shekinah Lodge # 241 of Carbondale and will be accepted by the funeral home.    
