Joseph David Suggs

Joe Suggs brought an unforgettable flair for humor, creativity, and gentle kindness into his world. Those who knew and loved him agreed there was no one like him, and unlikely to ever be so. He passed away Wednesday, March 5, 2025, in his hometown of Atlanta after a prolonged fight with gastro-intestinal disease, just short of his sixtieth birthday.

As the youngest of four sons, Joe was born on March 18, 1965 and grew up in the same home in which he spent his final years. As a child, he demonstrated creative genius quickly, creating his own cartoon characters and absorbing massive amounts of information about his world. He had fallen deeply in love with popular music by kindergarten, fascinated by the Beatles and the Beach Boys—obsessions he carried through life.

Joe attended the Wesleyan Day School, the Lovett School, and Mercer University. After completing his college work at Mercer, he moved to California where he studied cartoon animation at the California Institute of the Arts. After his first year at CalArts, he was discovered by Walt Disney Animation Studio and hired. As a young child, he’d announced he would grow up to work for Disney and thus predicted his occupation and specific company.

Joe spent the rest of his career in the TV and movie industry, working for Disney, Universal Studios, MGM/United Artists, the Cartoon Network, Hanna Barbera, Amblin, and other studios. There he collected a wide variety of friends and was also a co-founder of LA Grim Society, which offered tours of Hollywood graves and scandal sites. His work was seen in films such as The Swan Princess, Ferngully, Space Jam, and several television series for which he provided storyboards, animation, and writing.

Joe was a lifelong collector of music, books, and animation and comic strip art. He also collected a wide following in the animal community, as he liberally fed birds, squirrels, racoons, foxes, and any other creatures that might be lurking in his neighborhoods. He was a rabid follower of the Atlanta Braves and the Georgia Bulldogs.

Joe deeply loved his family and is survived by his father, James Warren Suggs, Jr., three brothers, James Warren Suggs III (Andrea), Robert Yates Suggs (Gayle), and Steven Michael Suggs. He is also survived by two nieces, Meg Suggs Sewell (Lee) and Sally Suggs (Krys Lancaster) and three nephews, Robert Suggs, Jackson Suggs, and Davis Suggs. Joe was predeceased by his mother, Nancy Carolyn Yates Suggs, and nephew, Bryan Douglas Suggs.

H. M. Patterson, Arlington Chapel, is in charge of arrangements. A memorial service will be held at Second-Ponce de Leon Baptist Church, 2715 Peachtree Road NE, Atlanta at 2 p.m. on Friday, March 21, 2025 The family will receive friends immediately following the service in the Fellowship Hall. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to your local animal shelter or humane society.