Joe Dale Hart Jr., age 65 passed away on Saturday, June 1, 2024. A funeral service for Joe will be held Wednesday June 5, 2024 at 10:00 AM at Griggs Schooler Gordon Funeral Directors, 5400 Bell St, with Pastor Greg Corona officiating.
Joe was an incredible father who, along with my mother, gave me the opportunity to succeed in life and to pursue my passion by going to college.
Joe never failed to let me know how proud he was of me, and he loved talking to me about my studies in physics, which he found fascinating. We talked on the phone often and texted whenever we didn't have time to talk.
My father cared immensely for his first pet cat, my childhood pet, Milkshake, and when she passed away my father was devastated. After Milkshake's passing I gave my father a stray kitten I was fostering and he took her in and bonded closely with her, always giving her a variety of canned and dry food, as well as providing her an entire ziplock bag stuffed with all manner of cat toys. He was one of the very few people I could trust to take good care of a foster cat.
Joe took me on many trips around the country when I was younger, and we enjoyed exploring the San Francisco Zoo and the city of New York. He got a lot of enjoyment out of visiting these different cities which were so different from Amarillo.
My father spent significant time in recent years fixing up the house that I grew up in, and never seemed content to just retire and stop doing things.
He will always be a massive inspiration to me, and I am glad he got to see the man I've grown into, because I will always feel a connection to him through the conversations we had while I have been in college. I will always miss talking to him, though. I absolutely loved letting him know what was going on with my classes, and just talking about absolutely anything and everything with him.
He is preceded in death by his father, his wife Tonya Hart and a sister Mary Campbell. Nephews Anthony Parker, John Parker and Kelly Youngblood.
He is survived by his son Derek Hart, his mother Angie Hart and sister Lynn Jones along with many loving nieces, nephews and friends.
