Joe Staunton was born in January 1931, his Mother Kathleen was from Ireland and she ran a boarding house in Holloway head before moving to Irving Street off the Bristol road. She brought Joe up single handed as her Husband left home one day and never returned.

Joe went to St Catherine’s RC School until he was 14 years old he then started work on the Railways. He was based at the LMS depot in Curzon street, first as a tea boy working his way up to a fireman, he always felt privileged to have worked on the footplate of the ‘Flying Scotsman’ It was while he was working at the LMS that he met his Wife to be, Betty Green from 11/8 Highgate Street.

 National Service came along and Joe joined the Army. Once he got home he married Betty and with a growing family he found the Railwaymen’s wages were not enough so he got a job as a driver for the Salvage Dept at Birmingham City Council, he worked there for 15 years until he was made redundant.

Joe wasn’t out of work for long, he finished on the Friday and on the Monday he started a new job at Chelmsley wood as a Resident Caretaker in a block of Multi Storey Flats, working his way up to be a Supervisor at Kingshurst hall Estate before he finally retired. Joe being Joe, he couldn’t rest so he got a job as a Volunteer, Driving other Pensioners to and from the dinner club at St Peters Church, Tile Cross and he did this for seven years.

When Joe was 76 and still enjoying his voluntary work he was suddenly struck down with a stomach bug. Over the course of three days he went from a fit & healthy man to a dehydrated hospital inpatient with Kidney failure and he passed away with Betty at his side still holding his hand.

Joe had his wife Betty, five children: Fred, Linda, Julie, Leslie & Karen, he had sixteen grandchildren and fourteen Great-grandchildren.

 

We all miss him so much.