Joe was an amazing man.

Whenever I thought I had a difficult challenge I'd think of Joe as a young man, down in the coal pit, and thinking about becoming a preacher.

And I loved listening in to he and Martyn Minns when no one else was around. Their English would become northern and their expressions, verbs, and many nouns would just go right over my head and I'd ask for the American translation.

Finally, I learned much of what I know about walking in to hospital rooms and tough places from Joe. He loved The Lord and I'm sure he has heard: “Well done good and faithful servant."

Paul Frey