Joseph Howard Bedran

Joseph Howard Bedran’s first memories were of Catholic school and growing up in Belize. Joe’s family moved to the US when he was 11 years old, settling in Jacksonville, FL where he attended high school at Ed White High.

Joe overcame many hardships in his youth. However he found Christ in 1979. Thereafter he committed to prayer, worship, and preaching the Word, as a man of God the rest of his life. After having his first daughter, Allison, in 1984, and raising her on his own for nearly 7 years with the support of his family and friends at church, he met the love of his life, Eva, marrying her in 1992.

Joe and Eva were married in just 6 months. She adopted Allison as her own, and gave her two sisters, Joanna and Mikaela, further outnumbering Joe with now four girls in the home. He never wanted animals in the house, but you could always find the dog or cat snuggling up with him. As the girls grew up, he survived all the princess movies, mermaid dress-making, and the boyfriends who started coming around.

Even though his girls didn’t have his athletic abilities or interests, he still found ways to connect and bond with them - through cooking, art, and music. He constantly showered his family with love, support, prayer, and Vicks Vapor Rub. Joe encouraged his daughters to achieve their goals in both school and their careers; he was very proud of everything they accomplished. He became Papa when Allison had Joshua; just as he did with his girls, Papa was at every event, band performance, and graduation. He adored all five of his grandchildren: Joshua, Eliza, Naomi, Makai, and Teddy. With his growing family tree, now including three sons-in-law, Arthur, Devon, and Nate, the boys finally outnumbered the girls.

Joe enjoyed playing his guitar, gardening with Eva, body surfing at the beach, and falling asleep to the History Channel. He was very artistic, and later in his life his original art ended up in the homes of many of his loved ones across the country. The canvas isn’t the only place he loved bright, vibrant colors - he also loved wearing those colors on his clothes, especially his Hawaiian and tie-dye shirts.

He loved being at home, but was comfortable anywhere Eva dragged him. Often he became the entertainment to the people around him. He laughed so much, but he made others laugh even more, especially his wife. There are few memories anyone has of Joe that doesn’t include a hefty dose of laughter.

The last few years have been heartbreaking. It’s impossible to make sense of what Joe went through and the emotions we’ve all experienced. But our memories won’t be filled with Joe’s mind and body failing him; our memories will be filled with moments of laughter, movie-nights, travel (however limited), the life (and bike-riding) lessons he taught his girls, and the overwhelming love he had for his family. Dementia has been called The “Long Goodbye.” But, while Joe is at peace, and we lay him to rest, we know it is not goodbye, because our faith tells us that we’ll see him later.

A visitation for Joseph will be held Wednesday, December 18, 2024 from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM at Hardage-Giddens, Riverside Memorial Park and Funeral Home, 7242 Normandy Boulevard, Jacksonville, FL 32205. A funeral service will occur Thursday, December 19, 2024 from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM, 7242 Normandy Boulevard, Jacksonville, FL 32205. A committal service will occur Thursday, December 19, 2024 from 1:00 PM to 1:30 PM at Riverside Memorial Park, 7242 Normandy Boulevard, Jacksonville, FL 32205.