Joseph M. "Joe" Golson

Joseph Maurice Golson Jr., 100, of Tampa, Florida, passed away peacefully on November, 15th, 2025 after spending a joy-filled day celebrating his 100th birthday with family and friends. He was born November 15, 1925, in San Antonio, Texas and came to Tampa 42 years ago from Barquisimeto, Venezuela. He was preceded in death by his parents, Joseph M and Margaret Golson. He is survived by Isabel Rios Golson of Tampa, Florida, his precious wife of 54 years; seven children, Joseph (Lynn) Golson, III; Ann (Andy) Sharp; Deborah (Michael) O'Neill; Valerie (O. Bryce) Gipson; Maurice (Marni Weaver) Golson; Britt Golson; Elizabeth (Jeffrey) Back; 15 grandchildren and 16 great grandchildren.
A Funeral Mass will be held at Christ the King Catholic Church in Tampa on Friday, November 21st at 2pm with a viewing 1 hour prior and a reception immediately following in the Parish. In lieu of flowers, a memorial contribution may be made to Wounded Warriors Tampa or End 68 Hours of Hunger.
Joe was a devout Catholic and proud World War II, Marine veteran, enlisting in March of 1943 at just 17 years old. During the war, he received training and saw action in Guam, Guadalcanal, Okinawa and Naha. At Okinawa he was one of seven survivors from his company. He was honorably discharged, with the rank of Corporal on February 14, 1946. He truly embodied the spirit of Semper Fidelis, remaining steadfast in his faith and commitment to excellence in every endeavor.
After completing his service in 1946, he attended St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas where he earned a bachelor's degree in business administration. He went on to pursue a career in agriculture, holding global leadership roles which led him to travel & live around the world, including Venezuela, deep in the Amazon of Brazil and most importantly, Lima, Peru, where he met the love of his life of 54 years, Isabel Rios.
Life with Joe was filled with adventure. His great grandfather, Joseph H. Polley, part of The Old Three Hundred who, with Stephen F. Austin, were the first settlers of Texas, filled him with an indomitable spirit. Moving to Torreon, Mexico with his parents as an infant, having Spanish as his first language, returning to San Antonio, Texas at the age of 10 to learn English, and living with his grandparents, Josephine P (granddaughter of J H Polley) and Joseph Golson during that time, opened the door for above-the-ordinary life experiences. His early days of riding horses to and from school, living through the Mexican Cristero War, and his time defending his country against insurmountable odds anchored in him a steadfast and deep faith in Christ.
Joe had a way of making the world feel steady, no matter what was happening. Whenever life tilted sideways, he never hesitated - he simply showed up. When massive floods shut down his daughter's city and left her without water for two weeks, he loaded his truck with garbage cans full of water and drove it hours away across state lines, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. He rescued his family time and time again, without a single question or complaint. That was who he was -steady, devoted, and always choosing his family first. Those memories stay bright because they're full of his quiet heroism, woven into the ordinary days that ended up meaning everything.
Being a man of strong fiber, Joe built strong character in his children through his example and words of wisdom. If these life lessons were a weaving, the strong, immovable "warp" fibers would be integrity, excellence, tenacity and respect. "There's no such thing as a little white lie," applied honesty to others as well as to ourselves. "if it's worth doing, it's worth doing right the first time" or, "Do these grades represent your very best effort?" reinforced a push toward putting forth the best effort - even if it was a mercy D in geometry! He expected not perfection but best effort in all aspects of life. "Can't never did a thing," developed an ability to overcome the fear of failure, to look at problems from a new perspective, breeding a sense of confidence and independence. He taught his family how to be strong and stand up to others, to take responsibility for all actions and to carry themselves with strength and grace. The simple practice of saying yes sir or yes ma'am, please and thank you, leaving a place cleaner than we found it, removing a hat, and bowing a head, embedded a sense of respect for those who went before us, for those who are with us, for personal property, and for God and his Creation. He lived with a kind of disciplined commitment, sacrifice, love and integrity, leaving a mark on everyone around him.
These four tenets were ever-present in Joe's life - immovable and unchangeable. The other threads, woven in and out of those tenets, were adventure, humor, education and time. You could always count on him. If Joe said he was going to do something, he did it, no exceptions. His words weren't just a promise; it was a commitment rooted in love. Even though he traveled and worked a lot, he always made sure to be early or on time. He showed up, physically and emotionally, where he said he would be. Joe was intentional with carving out time for his family and filling it with adventure, including camping, fishing, hunting and playing host to a skunk who snuggled up with him in his sleeping bag for the night. When his kids were in college, he would call just to say hello and "I love you." Sometimes he'd show up at their dorm or apartment unannounced just to grab lunch. When imbibing with friends and family, he was known to say "Cheers, first today!" even on his second round. Sunday dinners were non-negotiable. No matter what they were doing, where they were, or who they were with, if they lived in Tampa, they were expected at the table at 6 p.m. It was an unspoken expectation. Family was everything to him. He kept everyone connected, grounded, and made sure they knew they mattered.
In alignment with seeking excellence, one non-negotiable thread for all his children was for learning and education to be a lifelong endeavor. At one family dinner, Joe asked his eldest daughter what plans she had for her future after high school. She told him that she wanted to be an "airline stewardess", which he knew did not meet her highest potential or capabilities. He promptly cleared the table of food and drink and very firmly stated, "You certainly will not!". Later in life, when seeing the plaques on his daughter's office wall, he stated "That's what I'm proud of!" His integrity was at the very top of who he was; dependable, loyal, honest, and committed to the people he loved.
Intertwined with each of these threads, and the most prominent of all, was love. Each knew they were loved because of Joe's constant and steady presence, even when resources may not have been abundant, when he had to be tough or when it demanded sacrifice of him, they knew all he did came from a place of family and love. Before the term was coined he was the epitome of a servant leader. He never asked for recognition for his many successes and accomplishments but daily lived his life weaving those core strength-of-character fibers into the lives of his children and their generations to come.