Joe
Kimble died in his sleep, they say, sometime during the morning of Friday,
Sept. 20, 2013. His companion, Janet, reportedly left him sleeping that
morning. When she returned from an errand, she found him dead. He had no known
major health problems.
On
Tuesday, September 24, 2013, I met Dale of Ellerbe NC and Allen of Vass NC at
the Food Lion grocery store in Carthage NC. We met to ride with Dale to a 4:00
p.m. memorial service planned for Joe Kimball at Joe’s home in Robbins NC. His property is located in
High Falls but has a Robbins address.
Dale,
49, had been Joe’s and my boss at Gulistan Carpet in Aberdeen NC. Dale’s job
ended on the last workday in June 2013. He hadn’t found a new job as of Sept.
24.
My
office sat next door to Joe’s for 24 years. I hired on at Gulistan in late
April 1989 and worked until the day they let me go, Jan. 11, 2013. I felt
blessed to be nearing age 66. Many of the about 400 other people affected by
the Gulistan bankruptcy would need jobs.
Allen,
57, worked across the company parking lot in Gulistan’s quality control
department located in Gulistan’s main manufacturing plant in Aberdeen. He was
let go before Dale was and hadn’t found a new job as of Sept. 24.
We three
attended separately the Fry-Pickett “wake” for Joe on Sunday in Carthage.
There, we walked by a long line of family members to the casket where Joe’s
body lay. His body was cremated, as I understand, before the memorial service
took place.
The
Fry-Pickett Funeral Home of Carthage, N.C., listed this information:
Joseph Kimball
(August 06, 1951 - September 20, 2013): Joseph
“River Joe” Johnston Kimball, Jr., age 62, of 456 Welch Road, High Falls died
Friday, September 20, 2013 at his home.
A memorial service is planned for 4:00 PM on Tuesday September 24,
2013 at the residence of 456 Welch Road, Robbins, NC.
Here is
Joe’s obituary as it appeared in The Pilot newspaper, Southern Pines, N.C.:
Joseph “River Joe” Johnston
Kimball Jr., 62, of High Falls, died Friday, Sept. 20, 2013, at his home.
A native of Garfield, Ga.,
Joe was the son of the late Joseph Johnston and Helen Horner Kimball. He
graduated from West End High School in 1969, and Sandhills Community College in
1971. After a long career as a designer and stylist for Gullistan, he retired
in July of this year. [Acutually he was let go in February of this year.]
He is survived by his sons,
Joseph Johnston Kimball III and wife, Deanna Martin Kimball, and Joshua Thomas
Kimball, all of West End; companion of 21 years, Janet Cox Chriscoe; brothers,
Jessie Kimball and wife, Janet, of Fayetteville, Dan Kimball and wife, Melba,
of Louisburg, N.C.; sisters, Frances Graham and husband, Jerry, of
Murdocksville, N.C.; Patricia Rush and husband, Greg, of West End;
grandchildren, Kaylie Kimball, Brooke Kimball and Hailey Scott.
The family will receive
friends from 6 to 8 p.m. (today) Sunday, Sept. 22, at Fry and Prickett Funeral
Home, in Carthage.In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate contributions
to cover funeral expenses.Online condolences may be made at www.Pines Funerals.com.
Joe’s
house, 2009 01 20 in snow
Dale
drove us out into the country away from Carthage on “the new road” toward High
Falls (not far from Siler City). He turned left into Joe’s driveway, and we
rode a long way on a gray-gravel drive, down to where Joe’s rustic house
stands. I had never visited Joe at his home.
Six
rounded, smoothed, natural tree trunks make up the pillars on Joe’s old-time,
low front porch. The porch extends across the front of the house. His
tin-roofed house, built within the last 15-20 years stands on 50-plus acres. He
lived in an old house on his land while he built a new house. His property runs
down to Deep River. Joe loved spending time along the river and seemed proud
that his land lay along that waterway. He liked the nickname “River Joe.”
Joe’s river (Deep River) is icy during snow in Dec. 2010. Pepper
the dog stands to the right.
We passed
a deer stand Joe had placed near his driveway. His granddaughter, Kaylie, last
fall harvested her first deer there with Joe. Joe showed us at work the photo
of the two of them posing with that downed deer.
Joe’s
house has plenty of big, old hardwood trees around it. The driveway circles a
huge oak tree standing in front of the house. Joe kept guineas and sold their
young. “Pepper,” his little black and white “Mountain Feist
Squirrel Dog” walked around the yard at times during the memorial service.
A huge service-station-sized American flag was strung by a wire
from the top of the house roof to the top of an oak tree near the right edge of
the house.
Some folding chairs stood in front of the porch for the memorial
service, and a sound system and speaker’s stand stood on the porch, alongside
an electric guitar and an amp. Joe’s family sat mostly on the front row of
folding chairs. Dale, Allen and I brought our own folding chairs and sat down
several rows from the front row. People were dressed informally. Some wore
T-shirts and ball hats.
The Service
“It’s a
beautiful day out here with 100 of his friends,” said Greg Rush, a tall thin
man who opened the service by speaking into a standing microphone. Rush works
at Ingersoll-Rand in Southern Pines NC. He said Joe was in heaven, looking
down.
“Joe
would love this,” Rush said.”
Perhaps
more than 100 people were gathered under the trees.
Joe and his dog,
“Pepper.”
Joe Kimball shown in a photo taken a few years ago.
“Joe
loved animals,” Rush said. “Joe’s dream was to be out here in these woods . . .
[with] everything God put out here. He loved people. He said that when he
retired, he was going to stay out here in the woods and never leave. But he
wasn’t going to be by himself. He’d given an open invitation to people to come
out.”
Rush
said that as people grow older, they more appreciate people and family.
“That’s
a gift – to make people to feel at home,” Rush said. “We’d come over for
Thanksgiving. There might be 25 or 45 people at Thanksgiving [at Joe’s house];
you never knew. That man could cook some food. We always had plenty. I had the
opportunity to meet some great people through Joe.”
Rush
said he thought of “the Golden Rule” when he thought of Joe.
“He was
good to all of us,” Rush said. “He touched us all.”
Dana
Blakely stood at the speaker’s microphone and sang “Amazing Grace,” accompanied
by Danny Coleman on electric guitar.
Blakely’s
clear voice offered these words: “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that
saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I
see. . . . And grace shall lead me home.”
Danny
Coleman, a graying, tall (maybe 6 feet, 8 inches) wide-shouldered, heavyset man
with a baritone voice and glasses sat and strummed his electric guitar as he
sang into a lowered microphone. He sometimes plays with “The Midnight Run
Band.” He sat a few feet away from Blakely as he sang “Through the Windows of
My Soul,” which contains these words:
“(Verse
1) Held a prisoner by my sins, a battle raging deep within / Searching
everywhere to find, no peace and comfort for the mind, / But when everything
had failed, to calm the tempest that did roll, / Jehovah God did prevail, and
brought deliverance to my soul.
(Chorus)
“Though storms are raging all around, I know I stand on solid ground, / He was
so rejected and abused, that cornerstone hasn't moved. / I've got a right to
rejoice, you see I know Him, He's my Lord, / He's walking to and fro, through
the windows of my soul.
“(Verse
2) Through these windows you will see, there's sweet assurance for my needs. /
If you look closer you will find, sweet peace and comfort for my mind. / You
see, I'm bound for heaven, and not hell, amazing grace has prevailed, / And
right now He's walking to and fro, through the windows of my soul.”
The
crowd listened reverently. The afternoon temperature seemed perfect – just a
hint of autumn. The sun shone, and people sat, reflecting.
Blakely
sang “Go Rest High on that Mountain,” a song written by Vince Gill.
Here are
some of the words to that song:
“I know your life on earth
was troubled / And only you could know the pain / You weren't afraid to face
the Devil / You were no stranger to the rain. (Chorus) Go rest high on that
mountain / Son your work on earth is done / Go to Heaven a shoutin' / Love for
the Father and the Son.
“Oh, how we cried the day
you left us / We gathered round your grave to grieve / Wish I could see the
angels' faces / When they hear your sweet voice sing.”
Danny Coleman prayed that
those people who would miss Joe, especially Joey, Josh and Janet, in the coming
days would be blessed.
“It’s coming for all of
us,” Coleman said, closing his prayer. “In the precious and sweet holy name of
Jesus, we ask these things. Amen.”
Marshall Caddell Speaks
Marshall Caddell of West
End spoke. He works with Fry-Pickett Funeral Home as a monument representative.
“A man preaches his funeral
while he lives,” Caddell said.
He
referred to the song “Turn, Turn, Turn.”
"Turn!
Turn! Turn! (to Everything There Is a Season)" is a song written by Pete
Seeger in the late 1950s. The lyrics were adapted from verses written by King
Solomon in the Book of Ecclesiastes and set to music and recorded in 1962,
according to Wikipedia. The folk-rock song became a hit in late 1965 when sung
by The Byrds, an American rock group.
Caddell
read from Ecclesiastes, chapter three:
Here are
the words of Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 (KJV):
“To every thing there is a
season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
“A time to be born, and a
time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
“A time to kill, and a time
to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
“A time to weep, and a time
to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
“A time to cast away
stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to
refrain from embracing;
“A time to get, and a time
to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
“A time to rend, and a time
to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
“A time to love, and a time
to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
“What profit hath he that
worketh in that wherein he laboureth?
“I have seen the travail,
which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.
“He hath made every thing
beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no
man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.”
Cylinder
pieces of a wind chimes ornament hanging from the front porch boxing touched
together softly as Caddell read from Ecclesiastes.
He read
John 16:33: “These things have I spoken unto you,
that in me ye may have peace. In the world ye have tribulation: but be of good
cheer; I have overcome the world.”
“Joe don’t want to come back, if he could,” Caddell said. “I told
Janet [that] I sell monuments. The first date and the last date is not
important. It’s that little dash in between.”
‘Chiseled in Stone’
Danny Coleman sang “Chiseled in Stone,”
a song written by Vern Gosdin and Max Duane Barnes.
As Coleman sang, I thought about how much Joe liked
to hear Vern Gosdin sing. Several years ago, Joe told me
that Gosdin was his favorite singer.
Here are the words to “Chiseled in Stone”
(as recorded by the late Vern Gosdin):
You ran crying to the bedroom
I ran off to the bar
Another piece of heaven gone to hell
The words we spoke in anger just
tore my world apart
And I sat there feeling sorry for myself.
Then that old man sat down beside me
And looked me in the eye
And said son I know what you're going through
You ought to get down on your knees
And thank your lucky stars that you got someone to go home to.
You don't know about lonely
Or how long nights can be
Till you lived through the story
That's still living in me
And you don't know about sadness
Till you faced life alone
You don't know about lonely
Till it's chiseled in stone.
“So I brought these pretty flowers
Hoping you would understand
Sometimes a man is such a fool
Those golden words of wisdom
From the heart of that old man
Showed me I ain't nothing without you.
You don't know about lonely . . . Till it's chiseled in stone.”
I heard people in the crowd choking back sobs during that song.
The Old Rugged Cross
Dana Blakely sang “The Old Rugged Cross.” That song’s words and music were written in 1913 by George Bernnard. Here are some of the words to that song:
“On a hill far away stood
an old rugged cross, / The emblem of suffering and shame; / And I love that old
cross where the dearest and best / For a world of lost sinners was slain.
Refrain: “So I’ll cherish
the old rugged cross, / Till my trophies at last I lay down; / I will cling to
the old rugged cross, / And exchange it some day for a crown. . . .
“In that old rugged cross,
stained with blood so divine, / A wondrous beauty I see, / For ’twas on that
old cross Jesus suffered and died, / To pardon and sanctify me.
“To the old rugged cross I
will ever be true; / Its shame and reproach gladly bear; / Then He’ll call me
some day to my home far away, / Where His glory forever I’ll share.
Coleman sang “The Anchor
Holds,” a song with words and music by Lawrence Chewning and Ray Boltz. Here
are some of the words to that song:
“I have
journeyed / Through the long, dark night / Out on the open sea / By faith alone
/ Sight unknown / And yet His eyes were watching me.
Chorus:
“The anchor holds / Though the ship is battered / The anchor holds / Though the
sails are torn / I have fallen on my knees / As I faced the raging seas / The
anchor holds / In spite of the storm.
“I’ve
had visions / I’ve had dreams / I’ve even held them in my hand / But I never
knew / They would slip right through / Like they were only grains of sand.
“I have
been young / But I am older now / And there has been beauty / That these eyes
have seen / But it was in the night / Through the storms of my life / Oh,
that's where God proved His love to me.”
Dana
Blakely sang “Daddy’s Hands,” a song written and recorded by country music
artist Holly Dunn. Here are some words to that song:
“I
remember Daddy's hands, folded silently in prayer / And reaching out to hold
me, when I had a nightmare / You could read quite a story, in the calluses and
lines / Years of work and worry had left their mark behind.
“I remember Daddy's hands, how they held my Mama tight / And patted
my back, for something done right / There are things that I've forgotten, that
I loved about the man / But I'll always remember the love in Daddy's hands.
Chorus: “Daddy's hands were
soft and kind when I was cryin' / Daddy's hands, were hard as steel when I'd
done wrong / Daddy's hands, weren't always gentle / But I've come to understand
/ There was always love in Daddy's hands.
“I remember Daddy’s hands,
working 'til they bled / Sacrificed unselfishly, just to keep us all fed / If I
could do things over, I'd live my life again / And never take for granted the
love in Daddy's hands.
Joe at Gulistan
I thought about Joe’s work at Gulistan Carpet. He arrived early at
his office and worked hard. He was versatile. Whatever needed done, he usually
could do it. As our product development department lost workers over the years,
Joe filled in. He worked with designs and colors and took over the making
(“tufting”) of machine-run sample prototypes after Roy Thompson retired and no
one was hired to fill Roy’s position. Joe had a “can do” attitude. He and I
never had an argument in the 24 years I worked closely with him. He was
well-liked and drew people to him. I knew he cared greatly for his sons, and I
pictured him looking out for them when they were young, back when Joe went
through two marriages that ended in divorces. Joe’s hands were talented hands,
and they had calluses on them. It seemed sad that Joe died before he collected
even one Social Security check. He had decided to begin taking Social Security
at age 62 because his job was eliminated soon after Gulistan Carpet declared
bankruptcy in a letter published on Jan. 7, 2013 – eight months before Joe
would turn 62.
Joe
Finishes at Gulistan
I was let go on Jan. 11, 2013, but Joe was kept on to help Dale with the shutdown of the Gulistan Product Development Department.
Joe wrote on Facebook on Feb. 7, 2013: “After 40 years of going to
my ‘home away from home’ (it's called ‘work’), tomorrow is my last day of
working at Gulistan Carpets. It caught me a little earlier than I wanted, but I
am blessed to have had the opportunity to work 40 years at one place. I will
now do things that one only dreams about when working. Y’all come to see me and
let’s party. lol.”
Joe began drawing unemployment benefits.
On
Facebook on March 13, 2013, Joe wrote over a reference to an online video he
posted on his Facebook page: “This
sums it up so we all understand; please take the time
to watch.” Underneath that sentence was (and still is) the reference to the
site that offers this video: “Duck Commander Phil Robertson –Deciding To Follow
Jesus.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KwrmlTPI8w&feature=share
That video features Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson telling of his
conversion, at age 28, to Jesus Christ.
Joe once told me that he used to help lead the youth in music at
Beulah Hill Baptist Church in West End NC. He told me that he believed in Jesus
Christ as the Savior. “I say my prayers every night,” he said.
Joe wrote on Facebook on July 26, 2013, after he saw an article in
The Pilot that told about the possibility of a new business occupying the
Gulistan property: “[Gulistan] was my ‘home away from
home’ for 40 years; it was my place of work, and I enjoyed it. I hope the best
for this place; it holds some great memories.”
Dale, Joe, Arnold (an
80-year-old retiree from Gulistan’s Technical Services), Jerry, Allen and I met
for lunch at the Golden Corral a few times after all of us, except Dale, had
left Gulistan. Dale left Gulistan on the last workweek day in June 2013. Our
group, including maybe our former office administrator, Dillene, was planning
on getting together again, soon.
The last e-mail I
received from Joe arrived on Sept. 14, 2013, and it contained this message:
“Hope you and Carol
are doing great. I have a slack period now until I get my Social Security; the
only way to sign back up for unemployment is to go to school. It is really
crazy how hard it is now for people to retire. Years ago, it wasn't a problem.
I really feel bad for my sons and granddaughters. Take care, --Joe.”
Joe loved country life and the outdoors. He had once taken a
survival course, a kind of “living off the land” course, at Sandhills Community
College. If I wanted to know something about deer or animals, I just asked Joe.
After I hired on at Gulistan in April 1989, Joe persuaded me – I forget which
summer – to go to “Farmers Day” in Robbins NC. I went to the parade that
featured horses, mules and riders, and I carried a camera. I photographed Joe
riding a gray horse in the parade. His son Josh rode double with him, and I
took a photo right in front of a carpet retail store. In the photo, the word
“carpet” is pictured in big letters behind Joe. We laughed that he couldn’t get
away from “carpet.”
‘Home Away from
Home’
During the last few years at Gulistan, Joe, Dale and I fairly
consistently ate lunch together in the break room/ lunch area of product
development. We used to go out for lunch quite often, usually separately, but
in recent years, the economy sort of made us conscious of prices. We brought
food from home and used two microwaves to warm our lunches. Joe sometimes
brought big bowls of things (spaghetti, dumplings, etc.) he cooked. We’d
usually eat for 30 minutes and talk over things going on at work or in the
world. Then we’d split off to separate rooms to take naps. Joe wasn’t used to
napping at lunchtime, but during his last few years at Gulistan, he began to
value midday siestas.
The break area was our gathering place for 3:00 p.m. break-time
birthday celebrations. There were only five of us in the department during the
last few years: Joe, Dale, Jerry, Dillene, and me. When one of us had a
birthday, we’d celebrate at 3:00 p.m. on the day of the birthday or a day near
that birthday. We’d share a carton of ice cream – we liked Harris-Teeter’s (Hunter)
“Truly Chocolate” – and a cake. As Joe said, our office was sort of a “home
away from home.”
Especially during 2012, we were concerned with business
conditions. Our department developed new products, but those products were not
being produced as running line introductions. We introduced a few things, but
our development efforts weren’t being used to capacity. We were concerned about
the company. I felt close to Joe, Dale, Jerry and Dillene. I worked with them
for 24 years. Jerry was let go in December, just before he turned age 67. I was
let go on Jan. 11. Dale, Joe and Dillene helped me carry my stuff to my old
Nissan truck. We said we’d keep in touch. I felt I was leaving my “extended
family” as I drove from the Gulistan parking lot on Jan. 11. I believe that when Joe left on
Feb. 8, he felt the same way.
Marshall Caddell returned
to the microphone during the memorial service. I think it was at this point
that Caddell asked if anyone had anything to say about Joe. No one volunteered,
and, as Dale Meacham mentioned later, if the family had desired for someone to
say something extra, the family would probably have arranged that ahead of
time. I’m sure many could have talked much about Joe, but the service seemed
fine as it was.
Caddell closed by praying,
“We ask for comfort, especially for the sons, grandchildren, and Janet. We
thank you for the good. In Christ’s holy name, amen.”
Tables under a tent held
barbecue, coleslaw, baked beans and other foods, including desserts people
brought. There were soft drinks and iced tea. Dale, Allen and I sat and ate for
a while as recorded music played. I heard songs such as “Just As I Am” and Vern
Gosdin’s recorded voice singing “Sweet Hour of Prayer.” I heard Elvis
Pressley’s version of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” Dale and Allen walked
down to the river with a group. I wanted to go but figured the distance might
be hard on my joints. When they returned, I spoke with Janet, Joey and Josh.
Dale, Allen and I headed to Dale’s Jeep.
The memorial service
offered a time to process Joe’s passing, which hardly seemed real. We sat under
trees and listened quietly to words of comfort, mostly offered to us through
music.
I researched “memorial
service” on the Internet and found that someone said, “A memorial service is to
celebrate and remember the life of the person who was lost. It helps family and
friends draw emotional support, and it presents a public display of
acknowledgment of the person’s life.”
Joe’s
memorial service seemed fitting to his memory. Many days have passed since that
service, and I often still think about Joe. It’s hard to believe he’s no longer
here with us.
