Joe Bon Baisden

Joe Bon Baisden, 79, passed from this life on Wednesday, August 17, 2016, at his home in Belton.

Funeral services will be held at 2:00 PM Saturday, August 20, 2016, at the First Baptist Church of Belton. Allen Ritchie will be officiating; Joe’s son, Donnie, and sons-in-law, Scott Cox and Brent Gibson, and Dr. Royce Money will assist. A time of visitation and celebration will be held at First Baptist Church following the service. Burial will be prior to the service at North Belton Cemetery.

The family will receive friends for visitation Friday evening from 5:00–7:00 PM at the Belton Church of Christ.

Joe was born December 7, 1936 in Byrd, Ellis County, Texas, the son of William Joseph Baisden and Bonnie Dean (Whatley) Baisden. He was salutatorian of his graduating class at Killeen High School in 1955. Joe graduated summa cum laude from Abilene Christian College in 1959 with his Bachelor’s in music education. He pursued graduate music studies at the University of Texas at Austin prior to entering ministry on a full time basis. He married Janelle (Davis) on June 20, 1959 in Liberty, Texas.

Joe B. was a minister in the Church of Christ for over fifty years. He served many congregations, including churches in Austin, Bloomington (Texas), Washington DC, and Abilene. He was the pulpit minister for the Belton Church of Christ from 1971 until 2004. Upon retiring from preaching at the Belton Church of Christ, Joe served as an interim minister for twelve different churches.

Joe was very involved in many aspects of his community. He was a long-time member and former President of the Belton Lions Club. He served on many area committees and boards, including the Belton Area Chamber of Commerce, Bell County Child Welfare Board, Central Texas Council on Alcoholism, Belton United Way, Belton City Library, and Friends of the Lena Armstrong Public Library. He served on various advisory committees for the City of Belton and Belton Independent School District, and also served two terms on the Belton City Council. He served as a chaplain for the Belton Police Department and was a member of the Chaplain’s Professional Consultation Committee at Scott and White Memorial Hospital. He was a member of the Board of Trustees of Abilene Christian University from 1991–2007, and continued on the University Council thereafter.

Joe’s life of service brought many honors, including TSTA’s “Friend of Education” Award in 1986. In 1991, Joe was named “Man of the Year” by the Belton Area Chamber of Commerce and he and Janelle received the Christian Service Award from Abilene Christian University. Joe and Janelle received “Distinguished Service Awards” from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in 1995 and UMHB named Joe an “Honorary Alumnus” in 2003. In 2003, Joe also received the “Community Service Award” from the Agnes Woodson Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the “Beltonian Award” from the Belton Area Chamber of Commerce. Joe received the Centennial “Change the World” Award from Abilene Christian University in 2006. Joe was recognized by the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International as a Paul Harris Fellow in 2014.

One of Joe’s most memorable public works was his weekly column in the Belton Journal newspaper, called “Looking Up,” which he wrote from 1987–2015. One of the things the family has heard repeatedly in recent days has been how many people Joe either married, baptized or buried over his years of ministry.

Survivors include his wife, Janelle Baisden, of Belton; one son, Donnie Baisden, and wife, Sherry, of Abilene; two daughters, Jane Anne Cox, and husband, Scott, of Belton; and Katherine Gibson, and husband, Brent, of Waco, as well as six granddaughters: Lauren and Rachel Baisden of Abilene; Melany and Alyssa Cox of Belton; and Camille and Bonnie Gibson of Waco.

Memorials may be made to the Belton Church of Christ for Camp Koinonia; to Abilene Christian University for the Baisden Scholarship Fund; or to Scott and White Hospice.