Mr. Joe H. Hancock

Funeral services for Mr. Joe H. Hancock, 88, of Henderson, will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, September 21, 2023, at Crawford-A. Crim Funeral Home in Henderson with Rev. Toby Tipps officiating. Interment will follow at Short Cemetery in Shelby County near Center, Texas, at 3:30 p.m. with Rev. Toby Tipps officiating. The Family will receive friends from 10:00 a.m. until service time on Thursday, September 21, 2023, at Crawford-A. Crim Funeral Home. Mr. Hancock passed on this life on September 17, 2023, at his residence in Henderson. Joe Harrison Hancock, born in Jasper, TX May 23, 1935 to Jim Martin Hancock and Ruby Faulkner Hancock. At the age of two years, Joe suffered with polio which affected his left leg. At that time his family moved to Henderson, TX and resided in the Church Hill area. He learned very early how to cope with his disability. He was a typical boy, riding horses, bicycles, rough housing with his many cousins. He was on crutches and wore a brace all his life. When he was 15 years old, his uncle Dewey Faulkner, who was a Mason, suggested he might qualify for a new surgery procedure at Scottish-Rite Hospital in Dallas. The Mason’s helped him to get in for evaluation. Joe was ready to try and his parents agreed to the surgery. The hospital only took children until they were 17, so Joe was one of their older patients. There were multiple surgeries to be performed. They stopped the growth in his “good leg”, the right one. Then they had to stabilize his left side that was affected by the polio. They made his left hip stationary, his left knee where it would only bend so far, and his left foot stable. He stayed in the hospital during all of this time. After all the surgeries he was allowed to come home in a full body cast. He always told about riding home in the freezing cold and laying down in the back of Uncle Morgan’s pick up truck all the way from Dallas. He stayed in the body cast for approximately six months and then went back to the hospital for the final time. He was almost 17 when he was released. This surgery was so new for polio victims and it was not always successful. Fortunately for Joe his worked and he was able to stand with a brace and use crutches. He could also wear a built up boot or shoe. He graduated from Henderson High School, attended A&M for two years and returned to Henderson to work part time at a full service station. He was hired as a purchasing agent for Eastex Telephone Coop and was employed there for 12 years. He then worked in Dallas for Texas Power & Tel for a number of years. In 1967 he returned to Henderson, and on May 13, 1967 he married his life long partner, Sara Beth Foster, from Center, TX. Joe was not idle, he purchased a full service Texaco station and operated that for a number of years, then moved on to operate the Exxon station. Joe did not take a back seat in running these businesses, he serviced cars, pumped gas, fixed flats, did it all without crutches. His disability was never an issue. In approximately 1978 he was offered a partnership with his cousin, Euel Faulkner, to operate Highway Building Materials and Supply on Highway 79 S. He stayed there until the business sold around 1983. In 1984, Joe welcomed his first child, Amber Joanna, and in 1986 along came a son, Seth Foster. These two were his greatest joy. During this time he was working with his brother, Jimmy Hancock, clearing land with heavy machinery. He had a passion for dozers and tractors, the bigger the better, which he has passed on to his son. In 1987 he retired and became a full time home care giver. He and Sara built their dream home in 1991 near his parents home. Joe enjoyed life. He loved to go to the casinos and horse races. He liked baseball and was very involved with his sons ball games. He loved fishing and going with family on river fishing trips. The first date he and Sara ever had, he carried her fishing at a local pond. He was always the chauffeur wherever he went either with friends or family. He was a self taught carpenter and a self taught mechanic. It might not be perfect but it worked. After his dad passed away in 1989 he was a care giver to his mother until her death. He devoted most of his time to family. In his later years he enjoyed reading and watching TV from his easy recliner and taking many long naps. Joe did not like controversy and would ignore it or walk away rather than face it. He was kind to a fault, he would give you anything if it was within his power. He was considerate of other people. He loved his parents deeply, he was a loving husband, father, and grandfather. He was a fighter in the since that he wanted to live a normal healthy life and he accomplished that three-fold. Joe will be missed. His presence will be felt in so many places by his family. He will not be forgotten. The family wishes to thank his long time friends and comfort givers, Rose Sparks and Carolyn Miller. They made his last years so much easier and always brought laughs and raised his spirits no matter his mood, as well as the nurses with Assist-Care for all the care provided. Special thanks to dear friend Jan Tipps for the continuous stream of cards and calls. Joe was preceded in death by his parents, Jim Martin and Ruby Faulkner Hancock of Henderson, TX, mother in-law and father in-law, Woodrow and Lorene Foster of Center, TX, brother-in-law, Gary Gullard from Minnesota, and sister, Ann Rives of Henderson, TX. Survivors Include his wife of 56 years, Sara Foster Hancock of Henderson, Texas; daughter, Amber Hancock and Tyler Speck of Tyler Texas; Son, Seth Hancock and wife, Emily of Henderson; brother, Jimmy Hancock and wife, Barbara of Henderson; sisters, Gay Nell Hilbert and husband, Charles of Pottsboro, Texas, and Betty Gullard of Minnesota; three grandchildren Stella Speck, Samuel Speck, and Beau Hancock, as well as a host of nieces and nephews. Pallbearers are Chance Griffith, Clint Partin, Reyburn Hilbert, Shannon Young, Seth Hancock, and Justin Pierce. Honorary Pallbearers will be Don Bassett, Kenny Bromley, Dean Hancock, Gene Hancock, Jimmy Hancock, and Joe Lee Powell. Memorials may be made to the Scottish Rite for Children Hospital to: Development Department Scottish Rite for Children 2222 Welborn Street Dallas, TX 75219 or at https://scottishriteforchildren.org/ Words of comfort may be shared with the family at www.crawfordacrim.com.

Mr. Joe H. Hancock

May 23, 1935 - September 17, 2023