Don Verne Joseph's Obituary
Born June 8, 1926 to Vern and Lillian Joseph in Elk City, Oklahoma, Dr. Joseph died July 22, 2008, residing in Celina, Texas. He was a nationally known composer, musician, clinician and adjudicator in the field of music education, and dedicated professor of music for 54 years. His teaching career included a graduate assistantship at the University of Oklahoma, Cameron State University, Purcell, Oklahoma, Jefferson City, Missouri and Drury University in Springfield, Missouri. Following his retirement from Drury, he moved to Dallas, Texas and continued to educate on a full and adjunct basis with Richland College for an additional twenty plus years until his second retirement at age 79. Following his service as a member of the US Navy Band during World War II, he played in the big bands of Tommy Dorsey, Jan Savitt, Claude Thornhill and others. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Oklahoma City University and his Masters and Doctorate degrees from the University of Oklahoma. Dr. Joseph was a staff arranger for the University of Missouri Marching Mizzou for many years, and also arranged for over twenty additional university marching bands including The Pride of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University where he composed one of the school’s fight songs. His jazz arrangements have been played by numerous high school and universities across the country and by professional groups and musicians including Stan Kenton, Maynard Ferguson, Doc Severinsen, Bill Watrous, Les Elgart, and locally the Dallas Jazz Orchestra, and the Galen Jeter Orchestra, among many others. Dr. Joseph was associated with the Stan Kenton Jazz Camps for over thirty years and is credited with being a part of the original four person group including Matt Betton, Sr., Stan Denton, and Dr. M.E. Hall, as the founding father’s of the National Association of Jazz Educators (NAJE), now called the International Association of Jazz Educators. He worked tirelessly throughout the United States in jazz education, and was the Jazz Editor for the School Musician Magazine for twenty-five years, providing educational assistance to school jazz directors. A prolific composer and arranger, his music has been played by thousands of individuals, and has been featured in high schools, colleges and during halftime shows of every major college bowl game and two Super Bowls. A music library is established in his honor at Richland College in Dallas, where he contributed a huge part of his collection of music. He was married to Wilma Whittern of Shawnee, Oklahoma for 32 years and is preceded in death by Wilma and their first child, Jeffrey. He remarried in 1982 to Helen Thoennes of Dallas, Texas and they were married for 19 years until her death in 2001. He is survived by two children, a son, Thad Joseph of Frisco, Texas, and daughter Jill Roza and son-in-law Joe Roza of Celina, Texas. He is also survived by two step-children, Greg Thoennes and partner Susan Kelenyi of Chicago, Illinois, Linda Farr of San Antonio, Texas and her husband, Jon. He is grandfather to Courtney, Kelsey and Zach Roza of Celina, Texas and Kasey Stover, her husband Kris, and Alex Joseph all of Norman, Oklahoma. Affectionately called, ‘Doc’ or Dr. ‘J’, his legacy impacted thousands of students and colleagues over his lifetime.
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