Dateline: September 16, 2004

Fish

Joe Bob Fish, age 51, of Alanreed, Texas, died Thursday, September 9, 2004.

Private services will be held by the family at a date and time of their choosing.  Final arrangements are by Bailey-Ware Funeral Home in McLean.

Mr. Fish was born August 20, 1953, in Pampa.  He moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1964 and while there earned his Master of Arts degree in history.  He also began a career dedicated to serving others, working for Senator Alan Cranston’s office and ADEPT, an organization dedicated to assisting people with disabilities in finding housing and employment.

Joe returned to the Texas Panhandle in 1964.  He lived and worked in McLean, where he served for three years as Editor of the McLean News.  He then moved to Amarillo, where for several years he served as Executive Director of PACILS (The Panhandle Action Center for Independent Living Skills), another organization dedicated to assisting people with disabilities.

Many residents of Amarillo and the surrounding area still enjoy the benefits of Joe’s lifetime of service, as Joe was responsible for writing grants to secure monies for Amarillo’s Public Transportation System and KFDA’s close-captioning system.

He was preceded in death by his father, Sanford Cletis Fish.

Survivors include his mother, Jeanette Fish of Alanreed; his sister and brother-in-law, Larry and Lynn Swanson of McLean; his brother and sister-in-law, Dan and Sasha Fish of Alanreed; and three nephews and two nieces, Tony and Amy Polito of Clarendon, Ryan Swanson of Amarillo, and Taylor Fish and Parker Fish of Alanreed.  He is also survived by a host of uncles, aunts, cousins, and friends.

The family has requested that any memorials be made in Joe’s memory to the Shriner’s Hospital and the Scottish Rites Children’s Memorial Hospital in Nacogdoches, Texas.