Joseph Dewitt Eversole

Joseph Dewitt Eversole, of Shelbyville, passed away August 4, 2017. Joe was born August 29, 1931 to Emma and Orley Lester Eversole of Westervelt, IL. He married Patsy Martz July 7, 1951. They had four children: Pam, Teresa, Bud, and Tony. Joe enlisted in the National Guard following high school and served in the Korean War with his local unit.

Joe was an avid St. Louis Cardinals fan, and lived to see his beloved Cardinals win 10 of their 11 World Series championships; he even celebrated the rival Cubs winning the series this past year. He was also fan of University of Illinois basketball, and had been quite a ball player in his youth. As a younger man he enjoyed fishing and hunting for morel mushrooms. He spent countless hours on the Kaskaskia river and in the woods surrounding Lake Shelbyville with his brother, wife, children, and grandsons. In his later days Joe often helped his wife and daughters with their estate sales, and never met a stranger. Between the estate sales and Third Sunday Market in Bloomington Joe made numerous friends and fans, who knew they could bend his ear about baseball, antiques, politics, and current events and get an earful in return. Joe had an uncanny ability to block the television if you happened to be in his path and even if you were an expert on a topic, he could tell you something you didn't know about it. He was a proud member of the United Auto Workers Local 751 and worked at Caterpillar's Decatur plant for 30 years. After he retired, he became an accomplished amateur rug maker, an unsolicited advisor for his beloved Cardinals (off the payroll), and enjoyed watching his two grandsons grow up and then his three great grandsons. He loved being surrounded by his family and friends, and that is how he passed, surrounded by family and friends.

Joe was preceded in death by his father, mother, brother John, and sister Mary Helton. He is survived by his beloved wife, Pat, his children Pam Newby (John), Teresa Boehm (Gerry), Bud, and Tony. Joe had two grandsons, Josh (Beleena) Boehm and Chris (Rachel) Boehm, and three great grandsons (Brady and Brody Boehm and Payton Bryant). In lieu of flowers the family would prefer a donation to the Shelbyville High School Booster Club, as Joe was a fan of local sports.
He will be greatly missed by those who loved him, and all those who happened to find themselves in earshot of his stories.

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