Obituaries : Joseph Lee Stravers

Joseph Lee Stravers passed away on June 20, 2016 at the age of 41 following a short battle with sepsis in Meza, Arizona. He had resided at Montecito Post Acute Care and Rehabilitation Center in Meza for the past 12 years. Family and friends are welcome to attend an informal celebration of life memorial that will be held at the US Bank Community building in Vinton, Iowa on Saturday, July 9th, from 4 pm - 7 pm. Joe was born on February 27, 1975 in Des Moines, Iowa to Jeri Lynn (Wilkins) and Thomas Lee Stravers. He relocated to Tempe, Arizona with his mother in 1987. Most summers were spent in Vinton with his father and step-mother, Judy Trygstad and their children, Jason Stravers and Beckie Stravers. He attended high school in both Tempe and Vinton, graduating from Vinton-Shellsburg High School in 1993. After high school, he moved to Arizona and held a variety of jobs over the years. Joe moved back to Iowa in the summer of 1999, and shortly after was in a car accident in which he suffered traumatic brain injuries. He spent 4 years in extensive rehabilitation facilities in Iowa before moving to similar facilities in Arizona in 2004. Joe’s interests included sports, visual arts, billiards, and Nascar. He was especially fond of the time he spent touring with a pit crew on the Nascar Supertruck series. Always the life of the party, “Smokin Joe” was very friendly, outgoing, and personable with a wonderful sense of humor that remained with him throughout his life, despite everything he had been through. Joe is survived by his mother, Jeri Blackburn and grandmother, Nancy Brooks of Tempe, Arizona; his step-mother Judy Trygstad, brother Jason (Krista) Stravers and their children Jackson and Jordan of Vinton, and sister Beckie Stravers of New York City, NY. Joe was preceded in death by his father Thomas Stravers, and grandparents James Wilkins II, Donald Stravers, and Dorothy Ferguson.