Amy, I love you and your dad was there to catch Rick as he passed earlier today. RIP to them both as they are loved by many and in our hearts forever.

Valerie

Joe and I rode the same school bus.  As a 1st grader, I was terrified of many things, and especially Joe.  He stole my jacks and was always punching me when he went by me while getting on the bus.  One time he even punched me as I was coming out of the lunchroom.  Although I told Ms. Herald, my first grade teacher, she didn't punish him at all!!!!   Many years later someone told me that if a boy behaves like that around you, he must have a crush on you!!    Of course, we became good friends later and he and Lois even drove me about 140 miles to the Atlanta airport a year ago.  (I was at a workshop in Georgia).   He and Lois made such a great couple, both interesting, kind, and fun.  I will miss my 1st grade pest!!  Love, Laura Kay

My Uncle Joe love to share his stories and growing up in Stuart.
Well he had a sister named Joanne that was older than him and my Uncle Jim. And when they were in elementary school, if someone was mean to them or bothered them in any shape or form, she would beat them 
up.My Mom was very protective of them. Uncle Joe and Uncle Jim never forgot it. And I am sure that her and Uncle Joe  are together in heaven now. 

Love you , Debbie

Posted in Martin County Memories  2/27/17

As mentioned in my previous stories, flying here in Stuart was something a few of us teenagers sometimes took for granted. We often worked two or three jobs just to pay for gas and a flight instructor to teach us. I mentioned earlier that my mother, who also learned to fly here at the age of sixteen, had encouraged my brother Jim and I to take flight lessons. As we both worked at the airport, it was only natural that we had an interest in flying. 

So when I was 15 years old I started taking lessons from my instructor Bert Clements. Bert had finished his tour of duty with the military and was looking forward to a career in aviation. My dad made a deal with Bert that if he would teach Jim and I to fly at no cost, he could use our plane at no cost to him, so he could build up his flying time. He took it. The only problem was, I was just 15 years old and couldn’t “legally” solo until I was 16 – but we started anyway. For the next several months, as Bert had just started a new job with Eastern Airlines, I had to wait for him to get some time off so he could come home and give me dual instruction. Needless to say, it got boring waiting for him to come home so I decided to solo “illegally” a time or two. Fortunately, I never got caught.

The day I turned 16, I was ready to legally solo with Bert – and get my driver’s license too. That morning I went to take my driving test. Well guess what? I failed to come to a complete stop at a stop sign. The examiner told me I failed the test but could come back the next day and try again. I was really upset but knew I had another test that day and was really looking forward to legally soloing my airplane. So I went to the airport in the afternoon, and yes, legally soloed to get my pilot’s license on my 16th Birthday. So I had my student pilot’s license before I had a drivers license.

Photo taken a few months later and appeared on the front page of The Stuart News...

Posted in Growing Up in Stuart 

My mother – Evelyn Lois Babcock Wiley – came to Stuart in 1912. She was just a few months old when her parents – Bert and Mae Babcock – relocated from Denver, Colorado. While growing up here, my mother attended school and as a teenager, became interested in flying. At the time, the only airport in Stuart was a grass airstrip, along with a seaplane base, both owned by Bert Krueger. They were located off what was then called 4th street (now known as East Ocean Blvd.) The seaplane base was on Krueger Creek. My mother (known as Lois) was about 16 years old, which would have been around 1928. As she needed to pay for her flying lessons, she earned money by catching mullet with a cast net in the river near what is now the Stuart Feed Store (Stuart Heritage Museum.) She did this in the mornings, before classes began at school. Lois then sold her catch to the local alligator farm – and this provided her the money to pay for flying lessons. She told me that she soloed (first flight alone) as a teenager, flying a Jenny bi-plane.
 For whatever reason, she decided not to pursue a career in aviation, but she did stay interested in flying throughout her life. And for that reason, when my brother Jim and I as teenagers showed an interest in flying, our mother encouraged us to take lessons. So we did and I eventually flew in the military and continued flying professionally for most of my adult life. During my flying career I often took my mother with me and let her fly, both airplanes and helicopters .... she was a natural. This photo of Evelyn Lois Babcock was taken here in Stuart sometime around 1928-1929. After several years of research, we have confirmed it is in fact her.


Posted ‎ to Growing Up In Stuart on April 6, 2017 

One of my favorite memories of growing up in Stuart in the 1950s was spending a lot of time, mainly nights, at the old Snack Basket and Dairy Queen – at the corner of US 1 and Colorado Avenue. A lot of us teenagers hung out there listening to Rock & Roll music (Elvis Presley, Bobby Darin, Everly Brothers, etc) on our car radios turned up loud. Some of us had modified/customized cars with big engines and loud mufflers. When we got bored, we would drive over to Kanner Highway (Indiantown Road, Highway 76 then) and drag race. Indiantown Road was only two lanes in those days, and from the traffic light at US 1 west, it was straight as an arrow for close to a mile with no traffic. In addition to us teenagers, almost every night the father of one of my friends would show up. His name was Sydney Eugene Jones (or “Gene” as we called him.) He was my friend, Syd Jones Jr.’s dad – and he had as much fun as we did. Mr. Jones was one of us, and he loved to drag race.

The owner/operators of the Snack Basket were Marie & Tony Lovison. They always treated us like their own kids no matter how rowdy we were. I don’t recall the owner of the Dairy Queen, but I do remember that Mr. Markel ran it at night. Mr. Markel drove a school bus every day. In the morning, he would deliver kids to our school on east 4th Street. Then he worked all day as a maintenance man there. After school, he drove the kids back home in the school bus. But that didn’t end his day. He then went to the Dairy Queen where he worked until closing. Mr. Markel had a memory like nobody else I’ve ever known. If you were a regular there, when you stepped up to the window to place an order, he would just ask “The usual?” I always got an ice cream cone dipped in chocolate. The Snack Basket served the best hamburgers I’ve ever eaten in my whole life ... all 76 years of it.



It seems like I've know Joe forever and I have known you nearly forever.  We always had many laughs.  We will continue the humor when we all meet again. RIP: Joe.  God Bless all.


Jimmy and I send our love and prayers as you go thru this time of loss.  Many great memories from the "Wed Olde Timers' coffee & donuts"  and great stories of Stuart days gone by.  

Joe,  You we’re always so kind to us at Southern Pig.  You will be missed. 

So sorry you had to leave us.  All your pain is gone and you have a new body with God.  Thankyou for all the good times we have had with your summer visits, going to museum and always going to a different restaurant. By the way  i remember that tent Lois posted I slept in that on a camping trip with your parents.    I will always remember your stories growing up here in Stuart.    You will be missed!    ❤️ love you Bro

What a great man and dear friend of the family.  He gave us Amy, and for that  we are eternally grateful.  Our prayers are with the family. 
Brenda DeLoach Gadd

I remember when I surprised him at his house in Ga and he didn't know I was coming.  He was truly stunned when he seen me. He smiled and was just so surprised. 
My prayers, condolences and Love to Aunt Lois and Amy. 
I WILL truly miss him and I Love You Uncle Joe. 
LOVE Always Debbie 

May God comfort you during this time.  We will always cherish the times we spent together remembering the “good old days”.  Joe had so many wonderful days and will bring a smile to many faces as he is remembered.
Love, Ron and Patty Beckey

OBITUARY

Joseph Berton Wiley

10 May, 1941 – 2 April, 2020

Aycock Funeral and Cremation Center

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