Joe Jerald McDowell

Joe Jerald McDowell, 66, of Edwards, passed away Saturday, October 4, 2025, at the University of Missouri Hospital in Columbia. He was born on April 20, 1959, at the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Florida, a son of Joe Edmund and Geraldine Lee (Logan) McDowell.

He moved with his family to Kansas City, Kansas, where he grew up and graduated from Wyandotte High School in 1977. Joe lettered in baseball and was a paperboy for the Kansas City Star. After high school, he was a machinist by trade but also worked odd jobs, including cleaning carpets in Kansas City, Kansas, and growing watermelons in Georgia and Florida.

In 1995, Joe moved to Warsaw to take care of his parents. He met Melissa Starkey, they married in 2002, and were blessed with a son, Joe Allan. Joe enjoyed working at the food pantry, fishing, hunting, and attending Evening Shade Mennonite Church near Warsaw.

He is survived by his wife, Melissa McDowell of the home; son, Joe Allan McDowell of Edwards; sisters, Darlene Perry of Manhattan, Kansas, and Verona McDowell of Albuquerque, New Mexico; aunt, Adeline Stewart of Climax Springs; and several nieces, nephews, and cousins.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Joe and Geraldine McDowell.

Memorial services will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 1, 2025, at Evening Shade Mennonite Church, 34586 Evening Shade Avenue, Warsaw, with Pastor Elwin Yoder officiating. Burial will be at a later date in Turkey Creek Cemetery near Warsaw.