Joseph Chad Johnston
Joseph Chad Johnston
Joseph Chad Johnston
1982-2025
Joseph Chad Johnston, 42, passed away in his sleep in his home in Clearmont, Missouri, on July 18, 2025. He was born September 2, 1982. Visitation with family will be held from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., Sunday, July 27, 2025, at Nodaway Valley Funeral Home in Clarinda, Iowa. Memorials may be directed to the Gaucher Disease Foundation. Memories can be shared with the family at www.nodawayvalleyfuneralhome.com. Arrangements were entrusted to the Nodaway Valley Funeral Home of Clarinda.
Joe “Fonebone” “Joe Cool” “Little Joe” may have been small, but mighty. Joe was full of personality and life! He was only 4 ft. 9 in., but that didn’t stop him from living a full life, doing exactly what he wanted and having a good time doing it.
Joe was born with a rare disease called Gaucher Disease and was not expected to live through infancy. He wasn’t supposed to walk or live through his teens. He survived back surgery with a 5 percent chance to live. He faced many difficult, painful procedures. When he was young, he appeared on Sally Jesse Raphael talk show to raise money for Gaucher Disease. Joe attended a camp for kids with Gaucher and made friends from around the world. He outperformed his class at camp and gave kids hope they could progress as well as he. Joe was not going to let his disability define him. He showed the world he was gonna live and do it his way.
He attended South Page and knew everybody from kindergartners to seniors. Students of all ages and teachers pushed little Joe around in his wheelchair. He enjoyed shooting the starter gun at Rebal Relays track meets. As a little kid, he loved his days in the weight room, eventually strong enough to walk with crutches. Many can still hear the sound of little Joe going down those halls.
He graduated high school from South Page and went on to help family and friends with various jobs throughout his life. He took pride in helping anyone, anyway he could. He liked to work with his brother Michael around the shop on motorcycles and mini choppers. In North Carolina, he enjoyed helping his brother Alan with cars in the shop. You wouldn’t know that Joe lacked certain mental abilities, as he could shoot the bull with the best of them.
Joe loved to tell a slightly exaggerated story, help a friend, have a drink, tell a dirty joke, jam to good music, shoot guns, dance, talk cars or Chiefs, search for a good quartz rock, or tell about meeting Terry Bradshaw, or how he “almost” knocked a guy out. A Joe story was for sure gonna get you laughing.
Joe was the life of the party everywhere he went. From southwest Iowa to northwest Missouri, to North Carolina, everybody knew Joe! He loved to have a good time, make friends, and get everybody laughing.
Joe was preceded in death by Teresa Johnston. He is survived by Merlin Johnston, Danny Marriott, Michael Johnston, Alan Johnston, Tiffany Rhoades, Brandi Smith, and many other family members he loved.
