Dr. Joseph William Taber Jr.

Dr. Joseph William Taber, Jr.’s journey began on October 3, 1932 ironically in the town of Prosperity, SC. He was the third son of desperately impoverished parents, Joe and Lucille Taber. He had two brothers - Charles and Rene now deceased. His family wandered from town to town across the Carolinas living in ramshackled condemned houses and abandoned stores as his father pursued jobs that he could never keep. The bondage of poverty and the enslavement of his parents’ alcoholism provided an infertile soil for success or hope.

Along the way he was brought from hopelessness to hope. Teachers who took special interest, church people who provided meals and groceries, a friend who landed him a construction worker job, even the seemly random stop along the family’s way to Pendleton, SC when he was a junior in high school that providentially put him in walking distance of Clemson University and a widow who sheltered him in her home in exchange for yard work, were later seen by him as the hand of God. Reflecting on his life, Joe never dwelled on the problems he encountered as a youth. Instead, he thought of how God had guided and cared for him, and he was grateful.

In his junior year at Clemson, he met Mildred Barnett. She was God’s manna and his Beloved for 67 years. They had two sons, Joseph William and Rhett Barnett, and raised them right. He graduated from Clemson in 1955, enlisted in the army allowing him to attend the Medical College of Charleston and graduated in 1959. His journey took him to posts in Colorado, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. rising to the rank of major before beginning private practice in Neurology in Columbia. The friendships he made with other army doctors and friends from the churches he attended lasted for decades. Over the years many of them came to see him from states all over the U.S., and he was grateful.

His professional life in Columbia created more deep friendships among his colleagues and his patients. He was honored to be chief of staff at Richland Memorial. According to state-wide polls, he was the neurologist other doctors would send their own family to see. He was the founder and past president of the SC Neurological Association. He served as the primary physician for the Columbia Muscular Dystrophy Clinic for years, taught neurology to residents for M.U.S.C and was named best professor by his students several times. And he was grateful.

It wasn’t just neurology that he taught. He was a serious student of the Bible and taught Sunday School for years at First Presbyterian in Columbia, hosted and led neighborhood Bible studies, a key figure in planning the Governor’s Prayer breakfast, and an elder in each of the Presbyterian Churches he attended in his adult life. He mentored many men over the years in the faith who became not only deep friends but close brothers in the faith. Joe was humbled by the influence he had and incredibly grateful for those relationships and the way God used him.

But of everything on earth, it was his wife for which he was most grateful. Together they formed a family, created a home, and even named it “Glenkirk”, which means “church in the woods”. To them it was a promised land. They served God as witnesses, hosts, and servants.

In his death on May 20, 2026 his journey continues with Christ. He is reunited with his wife. Joe is survived by his sons, seven grandchildren and four great grandchildren. And we are grateful.

In lieu of flowers

Dr. Grateful’s journey to college, medical school, and professional success was not without challenges; and he never forgot the unexpected gifts—a bed, a meal, a scholarship—that helped make a way for him to keep going. In the spirit of enduring gratitude for the blessings he received, his legacy includes a gift to The Cooperative Ministry’s Financial Empowerment program. (3821 West Beltline, Columbia SC 29204) or to First Presbyterian Church (1324 Marion St., Columbia SC 29201). Or to the Red Cross (RedCross.org).

A brief interment memorial service will be held at the Elmwood Cemetery, 501 Elmwood Ave, Columbia on Thursday, May 28 at 9:30 a.m. The public is welcome.

A funeral will be held in the chapel at First Presbyterian Church (1324 Marion St, Columbia) on Thursday, May 28 at 11:00 a.m. The public is welcome.

A time to visit with the family will follow the funeral in Jackson Hall at the church.