Joseph Preston

Joseph Preston, of Green Island, IA, passed away Thursday, August 24, at MercyOne Medical Center in Dubuque, IA. A celebration of Joe’s life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Jude Children’s Hospital.

Joe was born on August 23, 1955, son of Ann (Hill) Preston. He grew up around Center Hill between Mt. Carroll and Savanna. He was the type of kid you’d have to keep a close eye on, or he might try riding his tricycle down the highway to Savanna. Joe attended Savanna High School, graduating with the class of 1973. In school, Joe wrestled for the Indians, and also enjoyed his Eagle Scout activities as well as motocross racing. After graduating, Joe moved to Maquoketa, IA, where he took up work painting planes, which led him to learning to fly. Joe then moved to Denver, CO, where he found a lifelong passion and career, auto body work and repair. Joe later moved back to Savanna, where he met the love of his life, Terri Gravert. For Joe it was love at first sight. Joe and Terri married on February 24, 1984. Together they raised two daughters, and celebrated 39 years of marriage.

Joe always wanted to live his life to the fullest. As a young man he enjoyed extreme sports, like motocross, skiing, and hang gliding from the Savanna Palisades. As he grew, becoming a husband and a father, Joe’s interest changed, but he still wanted everything to be the biggest and best. While living in Texas, Joe discovered his love of fishing. Pretty soon Joe had the best looking boat on the lake. But that wasn’t enough. Joe needed his truck to match the boat if it was going to pull it to the lake, and his fishing pole should match the boat as well. He was a bit of a perfectionist, and he brought that gift into his many interests, be it auto body repair, carpentry, grilling, bow hunting, or fishing.

Joe was a man of hard work, and endless energy, channeling those gifts into charitable work. Although he did much for many different organizations, Joe’s proudest achievement was his work for St. Jude’s Hospital. It all started fishing on a lake with a couple of friends. The group decided to organize a fishing tournament, to benefit St. Jude’s, and a friends afflicted child. The small gathering of fishing buddies became bigger and bigger as the years went by. What started as not even a dozen fishermen turned into over 100 competitors, raising over one million dollars. But Joe didn’t think that was enough. With the help of his loving, and patient, wife and daughters Joe organized and hosted benefit banquets to raise even more for the hospital. Like everything in Joe’s life, he wanted them to be the best, and spent many many weeks preparing every detail. These banquets would grow to over 500 attendees each. The St. Jude’s organization flew Joe down to see all the good his selfless work had done. This was a remarkable and tender moment for him, as he could finally witness the impact he had on the lives of those less fortunate.

Joe took pride in his work, both professional and charitable, but the shining star of his life was his family. Being the perfectionist he was, Joe made sure to be the perfect husband, father, and grandfather. He was a great Girl-Dad, who loved to spoil his daughters. He was a perfect role model, instilling the values of kindness and hard work into his grandchildren. Joe’s love of his wife and best friend Terri was iconic, and will be the example his family lives by long into their lives.

Joe will be dearly missed by his loving wife Terri of Green Island; two daughters, Mae (Dan) Casazza of Eden Prarie, MN, and Eileen Preston of the Twin Cities, MN; four grandchildren, Kaili, Luca, Kasch, and Lotte; many siblings, nieces, and nephews; and his brother and good friend, Ron Preston of Savanna, IL. Joe is preceded in death by his mother, Ann, and his sister, Martha.