Joachim Franz Mathews

Joachim "Joe" Franz Mathews, known to many as "German Joe", passed away peacefully in Lenoir City, TN on Friday Aug 15th in the presence of loving family members. Joe was born on July 21, 1933 in Peterswalde, Germany. As a teenager in Berlin, Joe trained as a tool and die maker. In 1952, he immigrated to the United States and began working at B.D. Eisendrath, a tannery in Racine, WI. He subsequently spent 30 years as a shop supervisor and foreman at Haban Manufacturing. Joe loved history, hiking, fishing, and landscaping and had a lifelong appreciation for the wonders of nature. He enjoyed sharing a good story or joke, and laughter came easy to him.

In the 1950s, Joe served as a military interpreter in the U.S. Army. It was during this time, while deployed in Germany, that he first met his future wife, Heidi. While it took them over thirty years to find each other again, it was worth the wait. Their time together, later in life, was full of love and adventure.

Joe was preceded in death by his wife, Waltraud "Heidi" Mathews; his mother and father, Johanna (Bzowka) and Julius; his sisters, Rita, Angie, and Renate, and his brothers Whitey and Eddie. Joe is survived by many friends and family members, including sons, Greg (Anna), Edmund, Jim (Marina); stepsons, Tom (Kim) and Barry (Karen) White; and many nieces, nephews, and grandchildren.

The family would like to thank Pastor Mark Rhoads and the parishioners of Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church in Tellico Village for their support, his Racine family and friends, especially Judy and Kathy, his Calhoun's family who cheered him on and up, and the many neighborhood friends who looked out for him over the years. He was fond of saying, "My neighbors are good to me. No doubt about it."

Receiving of Friends will be at Click Funeral Home in Farragut on September 6th, 2025 from 1pm - 3pm followed by a funeral at 3pm. The Graveside will be on the same day directly after the funeral service at Lakeview Memorial Gardens and Mausoleum on Easter Ridge Road, Lenoir City, 37772.

In lieu of flowers please make a donation to the organization, Research to Prevent Blindness.