JOE C. EAKIN III

Joe C. Eakin III was born in Waco on July 27, 1931, to Anne Pearl Wiggins Eakin and Joe Cecil Eakin Jr. He passed into eternity on April 14, 2022. His childhood was spent in Waco, Chilton and Marlin, where he graduated from Marlin High School in 1949. He entered Baylor University in 1949, majoring in history, and married Meriam Elder in 1953 in Kilgore. He graduated from Baylor University in 1954 and continued his education, receiving a bachelor of Divinity in 1957 from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kent. He pastored Baptist churches in East Sabine, Tenaha and Mexia. He and his wife moved to Tyler in 1989 where they have been longtime members and supporters of Marvin United Methodist Church.

Joe had many and varied interests in life, including obtaining licenses in real estate, pest control, reflexology and art. He made a living as an oil-and-gas landman during the late 1970s and the early 1980s. If you knew Joe, you knew he was a “character” and always had a story to tell anyone who would listen. He ultimately willed his body to UT Southwestern Medical School in Dallas.

Joe is survived by his wife of almost 69 years, Me riam Elder Eakin of Tyler; a daughter, Gretta Anne Eakin Sharp of Chandler and husband; and a son, Joseph Elder Eakin of Tyler. They were blessed with four grandchildren: Dr. Gretta Marie Sharp of Houston and husband Kevin, Jace Eakin of Fort Worth, MacKenzie Eakin of Tyler, and Nikki Stark of Comanche and husband Jeff. The blessings continued with six great-grandchildren, Stella, Sterling, Mark, Emilee, Clara Grace and Creede.

There are no immediate plans for a memorial, at this time.

Please visit www.blairstubbs.com to leave the family a message of condolence or sign the guestbook.