Joseph William Whorton, Jr.

Joseph “Joe” William Whorton, Jr., beloved father, grandfather, professor, public servant, and social justice lion, died Monday, July 6, surrounded by his family, at the Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, VA. He was 83. This past November, Joe was in one of his favorite places: the Outer Banks, where he was interviewed by his grandsons. When asked what he was the most proud of in his life, he smiled and replied, “my family.”

Joe, lovingly known as “Joe Bill” to his Oklahoma family, was born in Oklahoma City to Joseph William Whorton, Sr. and Julia Christine Moroney and had four siblings: John, Judy, Jerry, and Jim. When he was 13, he began working on early morning milk runs alongside his father. As the first-born in his Irish Catholic family, he left home to attend seminary, but God had different plans for him. After high school graduation, Joe moved in with his grandfather and became the first in his family to attend college, attending Oklahoma City University.

Ever interested in public service, Joe became the Assistant City Manager, followed by his position as the Executive Director of the Oklahoma City Public Housing Authority. One of his proudest moments was helping find a peaceful resolution to the 1969 OKC Sanitation Strike. While working full-time, he earned his master’s degree at the University of Oklahoma.

Joe was a lifelong learner, eventually earning his PhD in Public Administration at the University at Albany - State University of New York. He spent his nearly four-decade career at the University of Georgia. “Dr. Joe,” often sporting his signature bowtie, served UGA and its students as the Director of the Institute of Community and Area Development, Director of the J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development, and taught and mentored many Master of Public Administration students. His drive to fight poverty and make livable communities was felt throughout the state through his work with the Georgia Municipal Association, serving as the first Executive Director of the Georgia Rural Development Council, and he was most proud of this work in Athens as a principal architect of Partners for a Prosperous Athens, a community-based initiative dedicated to fighting systemic poverty.

Joe had three daughters, Kasha, Stefanie, and Morgan, and would tell anyone he met about them. When Kasha met Chris, and Stefanie met Marty, Joe bragged about his two phenomenal sons-in-law. When Kasha and Stefanie had children of their own, Joe quickly became “Daddy Joe” and shared his immense pride in his six grandsons: Quinn, Asher, Teddy, Henry, Simon, and Miles, often joking he had enough grandsons to field a basketball team!

Joe’s greatest passion was his family. He was a model of humor, love, compassion, and forgiveness. His support for his children was neverending, from showing up at every concert, horse show, or 4-H event to reading their assigned books in school so that he could discuss it with them to making world famous buttermilk pancakes. He made all their friends feel like family. He would drive hundreds of miles to be there for his girls at any given time and would always pick up his phone to listen or give advice. And they can still hear him reciting his favorite Kenny Rogers line: “You gotta know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away, know when to run.” He taught his girls a lot, but most importantly, he taught them to treat everyone with respect and love. He didn’t just preach it; he lived it every day of his life. Joe also had a very special relationship with his brother Jerry, and despite their 13-year difference in age, they were very close. Dad and Jerry showed up for one another and each other’s families, never missing an important life event. Jerry was dad’s hero.

When he wasn’t busy with his family, Joe worked on his unofficial mission in life — to shepherd people into higher education or help them discover their true vocation. There are countless people that Joe gave advice to, counseled, encouraged, and supported to reach their goals.

Joe was a progressive Catholic, an avid reader, a loyal fan of the Atlanta Braves, a knitter of dolls and stuffed animals, and a storyteller to his children about Oswald, the purple snake, who often found himself in the exact same situations his children faced and gave advice to address conflicts and create peaceful resolutions. His love of humor touched many people, and he could often be found laughing and talking with friends over dinner or bourbon. Joe loved to fly fish in the North Georgia Mountains and his family always looked forward to “fish night” and raw oysters every Thanksgiving where laughter, an occasional house fire, and his daughters’ concern for food-borne illness were stuff legends are made of. Perhaps his favorite pastime was reading the news and ranting/commenting on politics and politicians while encouraging his circle to fight on the side of justice and peace.

He will be so deeply missed.

A full mass will be held at the Catholic Center, in Athens, Georgia on August 15 at 11:00 AM. A luncheon will be held immediately afterward in the parish hall. 1344 S Lumpkin St, Athens, GA 30605

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to José Andrés’ charity, World Central Kitchen, https://wck.org/