JOSEPH BABCOCK

Joseph C. Babcock was born in Rapid City on November 28, 1949, the son of Bruce and Helen (Burke) Babcock. He died Friday, January 6, 2023 at his home in rural Wagner.

Joe graduated from Hill City High School in 1968. He served for two and a half years in the US Army. Joe cooked in restaurants, worked as a laborer and roller operator on asphalt crews before falling timber and operating skidders in the Black Hills for 15 years. After attending college at the University of Nevada, Reno, the SD School of Mines & Technology, he graduated Magna Cum Laude from Black Hills State University in 1990. Joe was a special ed teacher for 20 years at Andes Central in Lake Andes. He retired and continued to live in the Wagner area.

Joe loved playing poker, fishing and watching tv. He was an avid pool player with many accomplishments on the local, state and national levels on 8-ball tables, playing out of Rapid City and Lake Andes. He was grateful for the 28 years he was with his significant other, Cherie Jordan, who left this earth in 2017.

Joe was preceded in death by his parents, two sisters: Barbara Kramer and Paula Crawford; and the love of his life, Cherie Jordan.

A Memorial Mass was held Wednesday, January 11 at St. John’s Catholic Church in Wagner, with military honors. Inurnment will be held at a later date at the Black Hills National Cemetery. Peters Funeral Home in Wagner was in charge of arrangements.