Joseph “Joe” J. Estey, 91, of Ashland, NE, was born February 29, 1928 in Omaha, NE to Roland and Ethel (Toohey) Estey.  Joe was raised in the Omaha area and graduated from Benson High School in 1945.  Joe was married to Patricia Hunsaker on September 1, 1945 in Missouri Valley, IA.  He worked at Robert’s Dairy as a route delivery man for 14 years and ran a dry cleaning business for 45 years in the Omaha area.  Joe entered into eternal rest on October 18, 2019 at the Louisville Care Community in Louisville, NE.

Joe had many passions including his family, friends, church and even turned his love for plants and gardening into a business, Plants Plus.  One trait Joe had was his compassion and caring for others.  Most of his good deeds and his generosity were done “behind the scenes” and in private.  He touched many people’s lives in a positive way.  Even though he and Pat had 12 children he had a special gift in making them all feel like an only child.  He will be greatly missed by his family and many friends, for many reasons, one of which was his sense of humor and quick witted one liners.

He is survived by children, John (Rosemarie) Estey, James (Karla) Estey, William (Mary Kay) Estey, Kathryn (Kenneth) Broz, Mary (Dennis) McCune, Patricia (James) Baier, Denise (Mark) Kepford, Mark Estey, Joyce (Steve) Bogatz, Barbara Yunker and Kellie Alley; 44 grandchildren and 50 great-grandchildren; numerous other relatives and friends.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Patricia “Pat” Estey; daughter, Elizabeth Abercrombie; grandson, Brandin Estey and son-in-law, Walter Yunker.