Life is not taken away – only changed.

In the early morning of June 4, 2016, Joel Stanley Hart began a new journey with his heavenly father. He passed, after a 12 year battle with multiple myeloma, of congestive heart failure at The Medical Center of Southeast Texas. He was 72 years old.

Joel was born June18, 1943, in Huron, South Dakota. He was the second child and only son of Vivian Bernice Van Tassel and John Stanley Hart. For his K - 1 years of school, Joel went to school in a one-room schoolhouse outside of Hitchcock, SD. Second grade was in Hitchcock and 3rd – 9th Grades were in Huron, SD. His zest for life, the sense of belonging to a community and his commitment to service were established early in his life. With the family move to Tucson, AZ in1957, Joel graduated with honors from Catalina High School in 1961 and went on to attend classes at the University of Arizona and was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity. Music was always a big part of Joel’s life whether he was performing in the Bandstand in Huron, playing his trumpet in the school bands in Huron and Tucson, or singing in the church choir in Tucson. He joined the Marines in 1965; however discharged due to a paralyzing injury during boot camp.

Joel moved to Houston in 1968 where he completed a CPA internship and later became a Certified Public Accountant. It was in Houston where he met and married Dorothy Marie Ligon (Chee-Chee) and their love took them around the world. They began their life as a family with the addition of Brian and Kevin in Houston before moving to Labelle, Texas in 1977. While Joel was a CPA by trade, he served the community as the chief of the Labelle Fannett Volunteer Fire Department and an EMT for the City of Beaumont. He organized and ran several non-profit enterprises. He partnered in numerous business adventures including a bush pilot service in Talkeetna, Alaska, and was a driving force in the construction of the office building where his son Brian currently works in Houston, Texas.

Never one to let life’s curveballs dictate to him as evidenced by his resiliency when he rebuilt his home after it had burned to ground in the late 80’s. The support of the community was tremendous. It was hard for him to accept because he always felt it was his job to take care of others. Joel rebuilt his house doing much of the work himself. He followed the Texas motto of “everything’s bigger in Texas” with a few modifications increasing the original size. His medical journey of the past 12 years has been, as you well know, significant. Joel decided at the very beginning that he was not going to let the diagnosis rule his life. He always said of his journey that “attitude is everything” and “just because he was in pain didn’t mean he should be one”.

Joel loved to laugh, made everyone he met laugh as well and he never met a stranger. He was a charismatic man with integrity who found solutions rather than excuses. He invested in people by helping others develop their minds and discovering their hidden talents and skills. Joel hated to say goodbye, but rather he parted company with “See you Tuesday”. Joel loved NASCAR, EMT and Fire Department memorabilia, and he lived his life in service of others.

Joel is survived by his sister, Jill McHaney and her husband, Jim; children, Brian Hart, Kevin Hart, Autumn LaVergne and her husband, Brandon; granddaughters, Kayla LaVergne and Neomie LaVergne; nieces, Meghan Vazquez and her husband, Eddie; and Jennifer Samuelson; nephews, Sean McHaney and Travis Barnes; great-nephews, Markus McHaney, Dylan Barnes, and Kody Samuelson; great-nieces, Monda McHaney, Tayler Samuelson, Kaitlin Samuelson, Hailey Samuelson, Jadin Samuelson, Shara Vazquez, and Marin Vazquez; cousins; and a multitude of friends. He was loved by many and will be deeply missed.

Mr. Hart’s memorial service will be at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, June 11, 2016, at First Christian Church of Beaumont, 5290 North Caldwood Drive, Beaumont, under the direction of Broussard’s, 2000 McFaddin Avenue, Beaumont. His committal was held at Broussard’s Crematorium, Beaumont.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions be made to the Arbor Day Foundation's Lost Pines Forest Recovery campaign - arborday.org. -Joel’s legacy of service to the community and Texas continues and will live on.

“I think the greatest sin is for a man to not use his God given talents.” - Joel Hart