Joseph "Joe" Bales

April 4, 1960 - September 16, 2021

Joseph B. “Joe” Bales, 61, of Grand Island, formerly of Fremont, passed away on Thursday, September 16, 2021, at St. Francis Medical Center. Memorial service and celebration of Joe’s life will be at 1:00 p.m. Saturday, October 2nd, at All Faiths Funeral Home. Daniel Naranjo will officiate. There will be a gathering of family and friends from 12:00 until service time. Joe was born April 4, 1960, in Fremont, the son of Joseph and Carolyn (Andersen) Bales. He grew up in Fremont and graduated from Fremont Senior High School in 1978. He then attended UNL before going to work for several cable companies, bringing cable TV to many communities on the East Coast and in the South during the 1980’s. He then worked for a rural cable company as a Tech until he moved to Grand Island in 1991. Joe worked at the Detox Center of Grand Island and then the Friendship House, where he also lived. He had worked his way to House Manager and was employed there for 22 years. Joe then got his dream job as a Peer Support Counselor at Hope Harbor in March of 2015 and later became the Shelter Manager until his health forced his retirement in October 2020. He loved meeting new people and playing with the kids at the shelter. Joe’s passion was helping people, whether at work or at AA meetings where he celebrated 28 years of sobriety. Another passion of his was skydiving at Skydive Crete, where he logged over 1,000 jumps. He loved introducing people to the sport. He spent many weekends with all of the friends he made there and sharing his biscuits and gravy with everyone who would show up for breakfast. Survivors include his sisters, Patti Bales, Judi Main and JoAnne Bales, all of Fremont; 13 nieces and 4 nephews; aunts, uncles and numerous cousins, as well as, so many good friends that were more like family. Joe couldn’t have made it through all of his struggles this past year without the help and support of his family and friends. He felt truly Blessed. He was preceded in death by his parents and brother-in-law, Keith Main. Memorials are suggested to Hope Harbor and Friendship House of Grand Island, NE.