David Paul Joiner

How do you sum-up an amazing husband, father, mentor, and friend in just a few paragraphs?

David Paul Joiner succumbed to his 2 1/2 yearlong battle with GCA on Saturday, August 16, surrounded by family and friends.

If there is one adjective to describe David, that would be curious. He was curious about people. He was curious about their stories. He was curious about what they thought. He was curious about what their goals were, and he was curious to know what their passion was. When he engaged with you in conversation, you knew he focused intently on what you had to say. He wanted to know you completely.

Perhaps he was the most curious person you would ever meet.

David was born in Harlingen, Texas, to John and Virginia Joiner, the youngest of three children and raised in Dallas. He graduated from Hillcrest High School in Dallas in 1965. He went on to attend Southern Methodist University, where David pledged Delta Chi Fraternity, and where he studied Mechanical Engineering, graduating with honors.

After college, David taught physics at several elite preparatory schools in Houston and Atlanta.

After a brief time in Atlanta, David moved home to join his father's acoustical engineering company, Joiner-Rose Group. David knew that to have a competitive edge over his competitors and be successful in business, he would need more education. In 1982, David went back to SMU and obtained an Executive MBA. During this time David moved up in the ranks at Joiner-Rose Group, becoming the president and CEO of the organization. He then led his team to making the company the largest acoustical engineering firm in the world with offices around the globe, including Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, London, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio.

His greatest passion came late in life after retiring from his professional career, and that was teaching and developing young minds at San Marcos High School. There he taught physics and advanced placement physics. Several of David's students were the very first in the school to score a perfect score of 5 on the AP Physics exam. This made him incredibly proud. He mentored so many students that we still hear from some who graduated from high school many years ago. David encouraged his students to consider numerous options for college and to include Ivy League universities. Some of his former students went on to attend Harvard, Yale, Stanford, NYU, Princeton, Colombia, as well as the University of Texas, A&M, SMU, Rice and Texas State.

He was known as a tough teacher and demanded their attention in class. He expected his students to focus on him and his words the entire time, but he also happened to make physics fun with lots of experiments, encouragement, and a can-do attitude. During his career, 26 of the top 10% of seniors selected David as their favorite teacher. His last ambition was to teach a business class, and he worked diligently with Harvard University to create the first Harvard-approved case study method for Business Research at the high school level.

He mentored his students with a driving force to guide those who never believed they could further their educational aspirations beyond high school to graduate with a college degree and obtain their dream jobs. This made him so proud of each and every student. David won many teaching accolades including the H. Ross Perot Teaching Award and the Harvard Book Award for Excellence in Teaching.

In his spare time, he was an avid sailor, taking our O-Day sailboat around lakes in Dallas and throughout the Gulf of Mexico with his best mates, Kevin, John, Roland, Debbye and Birdie. He traveled the world extensively and loved meeting new people and developing lifelong friendships around the globe. David lived the Boy Scouts' life and embodied their motto, "Be Prepared." He served many years on the Eagle Scout Board of Review, guiding many fine young gentlemen along the way.

He appreciated good food, really good wine and stimulating conversations. He was a master at putting people together who would find each other fascinating.

Being a dad brought stability to his life, and that hastened his desire to retire from his professional career to stop the endless traveling around the globe to be a family man. David was up for anything when it came to his children, and if that included hanging out at our ranch, lying in the back of our pick-up truck with our then 3-year-old son until the wee hours of the morning to watch a meteor shower, he was up for doing it! Anything for the kids. He wanted them to have the best life possible, and that included filling them with knowledge and experiences to include good food, great friends, and travel experiences. He genuinely loved his children most of all, and his absence will provide a void that the children will never forget.

David is preceded in death by both parents, John Wiley Joiner, Sr. and Virginia Wilson Joiner; brother, John Wiley Joiner, Jr.; and first love, John Robert Hyink. He is survived by his husband of 45 years, Kevin Gilley; son, John-Tillman Gilley, and daughter, Lauren Avery Gilley; sister, Sian Williams; cousin, Debbie Nordyke; and many nieces, and nephews and amazing friends whom he considered family, truly his favorite people.

We would like to thank the incredibly talented staff at Sundance Inn Rehabilitation Center in New Braunfels for their love and kindness, as well as Elara Caring Hospice for their warmth during his final days.

David died peacefully with what he absolutely loved the most, and that was an audience.

A memorial service and celebration of life will be Saturday, September 20th at 3:00 pm – St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, 6000 Ranch Road 12, Wimberley, TX.

We hope to see you there because David loved a great party!