Joseph Yocum

JOSEPH M. YOCUM

Mount Pleasant

Joseph M. Yocum, 66, of Mount Pleasant, died Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022, at New London Specialty Care.

Joe was born June 25, 1955, in Pocahontas, the son of Merle and Elmira (Ollinger) Yocum. He graduated from Pocahontas Catholic High School in 1973. Joe attended technical school in Kansas City to become a medium-duty truck mechanic. Following school, Joe worked at a highway service center in Kansas City then moved to Mount Pleasant in 1976, where he worked at McWhirter Chevrolet for 27 years as a mechanic. Joe married Florence Sindelar on Sept. 23, 1978. The couple had three children and later divorced. He was a bus driver for Seibus and Head Start. Joe was an active member of the Open Bible Church, where he was a part of numerous Bible study groups and a prison ministry with his brother, Dave. In his free time, Joe loved being in the garage working on vehicles. Joe knew no stranger and could talk or listen to anyone talk for hours.

Joe is survived by three children, Maria Rice of Mount Pleasant, Becky (Matt) Hill of Mount Pleasant and Pete (Alicia) Yocum of Salem; eight grandchildren; four siblings, Rich (Carolyn) Yocum of St. Joseph's, Mo., Lill (Dave) Buesing of Wells, Minn., Mary (Jerry) Adriano of Kansas City, Mo., and Henry (Diana) Yocum of Pocahontas; and a sister-in-law, Sharon Yocum of Mount Pleasant.

He was preceded in death by his parents and brother, Dave.

Funeral service will be held at 10:30 a.m., Thursday, Feb. 24, at Olson-Powell Memorial Chapel with Pastor Mike Johnson as officiant. Burial will follow in Pleasant Hill Cemetery. The service will be livestreamed on Powell Funeral Home's Facebook page and at www.powellfuneralhomes.com. Visitation will be held from noon to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 23, at the funeral home, where family will greet friends from 5 to 7 p.m. A memorial fund has been established for Open Bible Church.