Joseph Huber

It is with love and sadness that we announce the passing of Joseph Richard Huber. Joseph passed away peacefully on January 7th, 2024, and was surrounded by his loving children, Anna Mariella Scott and Stephen Alexander Huber at the time of his passing. Joseph was a beloved educator, world traveler and bright spark in this world who will be missed by many.
Joseph’s amazing life, world travels, educational achievements and community involvement would be best suited for an epic, multi-volume historical series, however, he would have preferred that we stick to this condensed and more pragmatic approach-

Joseph was born in Far Rockaway, New York, on January 26th, 1927, to his late mother Margaret Stephan Huber, and late father, Joseph Richard Huber. Joseph was raised along with his late brother, Richard Joseph Huber and his late sister, Ann Francis Weber. From the onset of early childhood, Joseph had a deep thirst for knowledge and was known to be a zealous and insatiable reader. Joseph’s lifelong passion for world travel and knowledge began by regularly visiting the museums and libraries of New York City by train in his youth. By the time he reached middle school, Joseph was well-known in his neighborhood for taking adventurous weekend camping journeys by bicycle, either alone or with friends.

Joseph attended Bishop Loughlin Catholic School in Brooklyn, New York, and graduated high school in 1945. Upon graduation, Joseph enlisted in the United States Navy and was trained to be the navigator on a Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber in the Pacific Theatre of World War II. Fortunately, the war ended before his expected date of deployment and Joseph never had to face action. Joseph was honorably discharged and enrolled in St. John’s University in Brooklyn, New York, where he pursued courses in cultural affairs and world history.

After two years at St. John’s University, Joseph’s ongoing interests in travel steered him to the Foreign Service Program at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. where he supported his tuition by landing a job with The United States Post Office. Joseph’s passion for providing cultural, historical and geographical lessons in a classroom setting began to truly blossom through his curriculum at Georgetown. During this same time, Joseph assisted a friend in coaching a local youth basketball team which developed his interest in mentoring and leading young people. Having this experience in leading youth helped Joseph realize that classroom education, rather than foreign service, was his true calling. Immediately after graduating from Georgetown University, Joseph enrolled at George Washington University in Washington D.C. where he pursued a master’s degree in education.

After graduating from George Washington University in the mid-fifties, Joseph started his teaching career at a high school in Maryland where he taught history. In 1958, Joseph was hired by the University of Florida’s Department of Education to teach at P.K. Yonge Laboratory School in Gainesville, Florida. Joseph initially taught differing age groups but eventually moved to teaching the 6th grade at P.K. Yonge where he instructed geography, social studies and history within the Common Core Program.

While teaching at P.K. Yonge, Joseph made many friends with similar interests and values that would last a lifetime. By 1960, Joseph began to take lengthy trips abroad and, on many occasions, was accompanied by his colleague and friend, Mr. J.B. Hannum. It was around this time that J.B. introduced Joseph to his close friend, Mariella Davidson Waite. Mariella had recently received her Ph.D. in history from the University of Florida and was teaching at the University of South Florida in St. Petersburg. The first time Joseph met Mariella, she was visiting Gainesville to attend a social event and needed someone to watch her dog, so Joseph and J.B. gladly obliged by keeping “Baby Doll” for the night. Joseph and Mariella crossed paths frequently between 1961 and 1964 while traveling, camping and socializing with J.B. and other friends in common. After realizing a growing interest in one another, Joseph and Mariella began dating in 1965 and soon fell in love. A year later, at the onset of a lengthy summer trip planned for Europe, Joseph and Mariella decided to get married. They said their vows on June 4th, 1966, and the trip to Europe became their honeymoon.

In 1967, Joseph and Mariella settled down in Gainesville, built a house and were blessed with their first child, Anna Mariella Huber, on December 10th, 1968. In the summer of 1970, Joseph and Mariella adopted their second child, Stephen Alexander Huber, from the Children’s Home Society in Ocala, Florida. Joseph and Mariella were amazing parents who raised their kids with a structured emphasis on higher learning, world travel and non-judgmental compassion for others.

Every summer, from 1970 to 1987, Joseph and his family would head to the summer camp owned by Mariella’s parents in North Carolina, Eagle’s Nest Camp. Through those many summers, Joseph worked as the bookkeeper for Eagle’s Nest Camp while his children attended summer camp. Joseph’s love for exploration was keenly satisfied by hiking, mapping and logging information on the multitude of wilderness trails throughout Pisgah National Forest. Joseph eventually became a well-known authority on the many trails, waterfalls and outlooks within the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains. Many counselors and staff from Eagle’s Nest Camp were thankful to get Joseph’s advice on where the “hidden gems” were located.

Joseph and Mariella were also heavily involved with the Unitarian Universalist Church of Gainesville where they regularly attended Sunday service, social events and community outreach programs. Through the years, Joseph and his family made strong bonds with many of the other families and members who joined. Joseph loved being part of the choir and taking his family on outings organized by the church.

As time passed, Joseph and Mariella took adventures abroad as a couple to Morocco, Guatemala and Mexico. Joseph and Mariella also took their kids along with them to camp across almost every state east of the Mississippi River and abroad to Europe, Ecuador, the Galapagos Islands, the Amazon Rainforest, the Incan ruins of Peru and Costa Rica. Joseph retired from P.K. Yonge in 1988 after 30 years of teaching and was honored for a lifetime of educating through multiple generations. Joseph and Mariella remained happily married and continued traveling in their retirement until the untimely passing of Mariella from cancer at the age of 62 on June 21st, 1993.

After Mariella’s passing, Joseph surrounded himself with the many friends he had made through the Unitarian Universalist Church of Gainesville. In the spring of 1996, Joseph began spending ample time with a friend he had known for many years through church, Stevie Hoffman. As a decorated and seasoned educator, Stevie truly shared Joseph’s passion for knowledge and travel. Joseph and Stevie began dating and quickly realized that they were in love. On April 12th, 1997, Joseph and Stevie were married while surrounded by both their families. From Stevie’s side, Joseph was blessed to gain loving family members–stepdaughter, Amy Million, step-granddaughter, Emily Million and step-grandson, John Million. Joseph and Stevie traveled to many exotic and amazing places across the globe: China, Australia, New Zealand, Polynesia, Europe, and all over North America; eventually visiting all 50 states. Joseph and Stevie also spent extensive time at Crescent Beach, Florida, and in the mountains of North Carolina. During this part of his retirement and between worldly travels with Stevie, Joseph became very involved in volunteering as a Docent at the Harn Museum of Art. Joseph and Stevie would also regularly volunteer as ushers at the Phillips Center for Performing Arts. Joseph and Stevie remained happily married until Stevie passed away on September 30th, 2015.

In 2018, Joseph said farewell to Gainesville and moved to an assisted living home in Valdosta, Georgia, where he spent the remainder of his days near his daughter, Anna Mariella Scott and had regular visits from his son, Stephen Alexander Huber. While living in Valdosta, Joseph made many friends, played lots of Bridge and read many books. Every place Joseph lived in Valdosta, the staff was always enamored with the knowledge and worldliness he retained. At Joseph’s passing, his children received multiple praises on his behalf from many facility administrators and staff members, such as: “…favorite resident’, “…walking, talking library” and “…learned more from your dad than any teacher I had in school.”
Joseph was a teacher for life and a student of this world for a lifetime.
Joseph demonstrated kindness to others while holding an honest, no-nonsense and unbiased approach to communicating.
Joseph demanded justice for all people and stood up for others.
Joseph will be missed but his bright spark will live on through those whom he loved, enlightened and befriended.
Joseph is survived by his children - Anna Mariella Scott (h. Andy Scott, grandson Zakary Scott) and Stephen Alexander Huber (w. Holly Webster Huber, granddaughters Kaia Huber, Sienna Huber) and his nieces - Margaret Wieland, Marion Vizoso, Elizabeth Sherin and Ann Neuwiler.
A Celebration of Life Service will be held for Joseph by his children at the residence of Anna Mariella Scott in Hahira, Georgia on Saturday, February 3rd from 2 pm-4 pm.