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Dr. Joe Bill Webber, 87, of Overland Park, Kan., died Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012 at the Kansas City Hospice House from complications of COPD.
Joe was born Oct. 18, 1924 on a ranch in Maljamar, New Mexico, to Ladd and Tommie Taylor Webber. He was the second of seven children.
He was a 1943 graduate of Lovington, N.M. High School. He attended New Mexico A & M University (now New Mexico State University) in Las Cruces, N.M., where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology in 1948.
From 1948 until 1954, he was employed by The Atomic Energy Commission at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, N.M. While employed by the Commission, he traveled to Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshall Islands to study the biological effects of the experimental atomic and hydrogen bombs exploded there.
In June 1951, Joe married Patricia Lee Windle of Chillicothe, Mo., who was also employed at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. In 1955, Joe and his wife moved to Kirksville, Mo., where Joe attended the Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine. He received his Doctor of Osteopathy degree in 1958.
In 1959, Dr. Webber established his family medical practice at 901 Jackson Street in Chillicothe, Mo. In November 1960, Dr. Joe was elected Livingston County Coroner, an office he held until December 1972.
In 1976, Dr. Webber received his ophthalmology certification and relocated to Kansas City to perform eye exams for Vision Optical in Kansas City and Blue Springs. He retired in 2000, sold his home, and moved to Silvercrest at Deer Creek, a retirement community in Overland Park, Kan.
Dr. Webber was an accomplished equestrian. He competed in horse shows throughout the United States and was an alternate to the U.S. Olympic Team in 1968. He was a lifetime member of the United States Equestrian Federation.
Dr. Webber is survived by a daughter, Stephanie Hecker, Overland Park, Kan.; three grandchildren, Aaron Hecker, Lindsay Hecker, and Kyle Hecker, all of Overland Park, Kan.; two brothers, Leon Webber, Midland, Texas and Ladd “Buddy” Webber, Center Point, Texas; one sister, Tommie Childs, Odessa, Texas; eight nephews and four nieces.
Joe was preceded in death by his parents; two sisters, Mary Lynn and Netti Lou Belfi; a brother, Richard “Dick” Webber of Titusville, Fla.; and an infant granddaughter, Abbey Marie Hecker.
As requested by Dr. Webber, there is no service scheduled. A celebration of his life to be held at Silvercrest will be announced at a later date.
Memorial donations in his memory may be made to the United States Equestrian Federation Disaster Relief Fund at www.usef.org, or you may mail your contribution to: United States Equestrian Federation, Disaster Relief Fund, 4047 Iron Works Pkwy., Lexington, KY 40511.
Arrangements are under the direction of Cremation Society of Kansas and Missouri, Prairie Village, Kan.
Dr. Joe Bill Webber, 87, of Overland Park, Kan., died Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012 at the Kansas City Hospice House from complications of COPD.
Joe was born Oct. 18, 1924 on a ranch in Maljamar, New Mexico, to Ladd and Tommie Taylor Webber. He was the second of seven children.
He was a 1943 graduate of Lovington, N.M. High School. He attended New Mexico A & M University (now New Mexico State University) in Las Cruces, N.M., where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology in 1948.
From 1948 until 1954, he was employed by The Atomic Energy Commission at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, N.M. While employed by the Commission, he traveled to Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshall Islands to study the biological effects of the experimental atomic and hydrogen bombs exploded there.
In June 1951, Joe married Patricia Lee Windle of Chillicothe, Mo., who was also employed at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. In 1955, Joe and his wife moved to Kirksville, Mo., where Joe attended the Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine. He received his Doctor of Osteopathy degree in 1958.
In 1959, Dr. Webber established his family medical practice at 901 Jackson Street in Chillicothe, Mo. In November 1960, Dr. Joe was elected Livingston County Coroner, an office he held until December 1972.
In 1976, Dr. Webber received his ophthalmology certification and relocated to Kansas City to perform eye exams for Vision Optical in Kansas City and Blue Springs. He retired in 2000, sold his home, and moved to Silvercrest at Deer Creek, a retirement community in Overland Park, Kan.
Dr. Webber was an accomplished equestrian. He competed in horse shows throughout the United States and was an alternate to the U.S. Olympic Team in 1968. He was a lifetime member of the United States Equestrian Federation.
Dr. Webber is survived by a daughter, Stephanie Hecker, Overland Park, Kan.; three grandchildren, Aaron Hecker, Lindsay Hecker, and Kyle Hecker, all of Overland Park, Kan.; two brothers, Leon Webber, Midland, Texas and Ladd “Buddy” Webber, Center Point, Texas; one sister, Tommie Childs, Odessa, Texas; eight nephews and four nieces.
Joe was preceded in death by his parents; two sisters, Mary Lynn and Netti Lou Belfi; a brother, Richard “Dick” Webber of Titusville, Fla.; and an infant granddaughter, Abbey Marie Hecker.
As requested by Dr. Webber, there is no service scheduled. A celebration of his life to be held at Silvercrest will be announced at a later date.
Memorial donations in his memory may be made to the United States Equestrian Federation Disaster Relief Fund at www.usef.org, or you may mail your contribution to: United States Equestrian Federation, Disaster Relief Fund, 4047 Iron Works Pkwy., Lexington, KY 40511.
Arrangements are under the direction of Cremation Society of Kansas and Missouri, Prairie Village, Kan.
