Joe Chambless, Jr.

Joseph “Joe” Alfred Chambless Jr., 81, of San Antonio, Texas, formerly of Beeville, passed away Wednesday, May 24, 2023. He was reunited with his wife, Elizabeth Ann, who recently passed away.

Joe was born April 10, 1942, in Galveston, Texas to Joseph "Big Joe" Chambless and Virgina "Ginny" Chambless. He attended Mount Carmel High School and joined the U.S. Navy in October of 1962. He proudly served twenty-two years in the service of his country, accumulating along the way two Meritorious Unit Awards, five Good Conduct Awards, a National Defense Service medal, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, and the Vietnam Campaign Ribbon. He served with distinction on surface ships, submarines and finished out his career at NAS Chase Field in Beeville, Texas, retiring in November of 1984 at the rank of SK1. He continued to support the Navy as a civilian contractor until the closure of NAS Chase in 1993. Joe began a second career as a corrections officer for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice upon the base closure. He retired a second time in 2004 from TDCJ and began to enjoy living in retirement with his wife, Ann.

Joe married Elizabeth Ann Lundy on Sept. 29, 1967 in Honolulu, Hawaii. He and Ann had a son, Micau, while in Hawaii and four more children, Marie, John, Kathleen, and Francis after moving to Charleston, South Carolina for his new duty station. The family moved from Charleston to Cape Canaveral, Florida in 1976 after four years there and a short year in Kingsbay, Georgia. Joseph brought his family to Beeville in 1982 and remained a resident of Beeville till 2021 when an accident with Ann forced their move to San Antonio. He resided in San Antonio from 2021 until the Lord called him home.

Joe was an active parishioner of St. Joseph Catholic Church and a member of the Knights of Columbus. He enjoyed woodworking and made many great wooden toys not just for his children but also for the St. Joseph’s fund-raising BBQ throughout the years.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Joseph Alfred Chambless and Virginia Chambless; sisters, Priscilla and Joanne; wife, Elizabeth Ann Chambless, on May 1, 2023; and a grandson, Robert William Burnette.

Left behind to cherish fond memories include three sons, Micau Chambless, John Chambless and Francis Chambless; two daughters, Marie Jackson and Kathleen Burnette; 12 grandchildren, Jay Chambless, Anthony Chambless, Christopher Chambless, RJ Jackson, Jacob Jackson, Joey Jackson, Teddy Jackson, Geoffrey Chambless, Kyle Chambless, Lauren Chambless, Adam Chambless and Brynnlee Chambless; three great-grandchildren, Adalynn Chambless, Savannah Chambless and Christina Chambless; and a brother-in-law, Francis Lundy.

Visitation will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 3, at Galloway & Sons Funeral Home in Beeville with a Rosary to be recited at 5 o’clock that evening.

A memorial Mass will be conducted at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 24, at St. Joseph Catholic Church with Father Richard Gonzales officiating.

Inurnment of his and his beloved wife’s cremains will follow in the St. Joseph Cemetery.

Pallbearers will be Micau Chambless, John Chambless, Francis Chambless, Francis Lundy, Geoffrey Chambless and Jay Chambless.