Joseph Alexander Valendy Jr

Joseph Alexander Valendy Jr. came into this world as a surprise to his parents on October 28, 1957. He was born in the front yard of their Crestwood, Missouri home. Not expected to live, he was christened in the hospital with a doctor and nurse as his godparents. When Joe was young, his parents moved to Berkley, Missouri, where he met his best friend for life, Art Muchmore. They were inseparable all through school until Joe met Jan Gentry. Instead of entering the Coast Guard together, Joe took a job at Dome Railway Services in Wood River, Illinois, and started dating Jan. Joe and Jan met in September 1975 through an organization called Junior Achievement (JA). They were both in the same ‘company’ or group. Jan was elected president of the company and Joe was elected Safety Manager. They began dating in early 1976 when Jan’s car broke down, and she asked Joe to take her to JA and her high school basketball game, as she was on the drill team. He showed up at her door with an orange carnation corsage with black ribbon, her school colors, just because. They were engaged in May of 1977 and married May 20, 1978. Two months later, they moved to Saginaw, Texas. Joe took a lateral transfer from Dome Railway Services to help build and open Ft. Worth Railway Services. While they lived in Saginaw, both their sons were born. Knowing they would outgrow the 1,720 sq. ft. house they had, they built a new home in Keller, where they watched their sons grow up, get married, and move away.

Joe was one of the first to meet and greet people as they moved into the new neighborhood. He was always building community around his family. Joe went to work for AFab Industries, a steel fabrication company, as the General Manager and worked there for many years until his retirement in 2024. Joe took on many roles in his life. Socially and publicly, he coached t-ball and soccer, refereed soccer games, served as a Scout den leader and Scoutmaster, volunteered with CERT and VBS, and was part of the Emergency Response Team at Keller United Methodist Church. For his family, he taught his kids how to fish (and retrieve poles that fell into the lake), modeled commitment, service, fidelity, was always ready to wrestle, incredibly ticklish, willing to be silly, and was kind to those he served with or was served by.

Joe was first diagnosed with tonsil cancer in February 2013. He won that battle in May 2013. In 2014, Joe and Jan moved two miles to a new home in a retirement community in Keller. He became involved in that neighborhood, building a community around himself and Jan. Always on the lookout for people moving in, Joe was one of, if not the first person people met when they moved in. He was a board member and participated in various community activities. Joe started the Legion of Odd Jobs in his retirement community. This is a group of residents that make their ‘honey do’ talents available to others in the community. Joe would hold impromptu cookouts by the pool and feed whoever happened to be there. There were numerous fish fries from Joe’s many fishing trips with friends and family.

In September 2020, Joe was diagnosed with prostate cancer and beat that also. In the summer of 2025, he was diagnosed with bladder cancer and had surgery in December 2025 to remove it. Pathology reports showed this cancer had metastasized to other parts of his body. After 13 years of battling cancer, Joe became too tired to fight. He moved to his forever home March 16, 2026, no doubt starting to build another community around him. Family and friends surrounded him with love as he passed away.

Joe is survived by his spouse of 47 years, Jan Valendy; his eldest son, Rev. Dr. Jason Valendy and his spouse Rev. Estee, along with their two sons, Judah (18) and Evan (13), of Keller, Texas; and his youngest son, Jeremy Valendy and his spouse Jamie, of Phoenix, Arizona. He is also survived by his older brother, “Big” John Valendy and his spouse Diane, his son Scott and daughter Liane, and their spouses; his younger brother, Mike Valendy, his spouse Crissy, and his daughter Melissa; and his nephew, “Little” John Phillips, his children, Tyler and Holly, and their families.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Elsie and Joe Valendy Sr., and his older sister, Clarann Philips.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Keller United Methodist Church Endowment Fund, which can be found here