Friends, civic leaders remember Joe Gambill's wit and wisdom

Former Cape Girardeau County commissioner Joe Gambill was remembered by friends and civic leaders Thursday as a man of wit and wisdom.

Gambill died Thursday at his Cape Girardeau home at the age of 89.

Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce president John Mehner said, “Joe was an extremely brilliant individual,” adding Gambill was dedicated to the community.

A former plant manager, Gambill was active in economic-development efforts with the chamber of commerce, the Cape Girardeau County Industrial Development Authority and the Cape Girardeau Area Magnet organization.

He was plant manager of Marquette Cement for 10 years and served as a consultant, setting up concrete plants in the Bahamas and California.

He managed the BioKyowa plant, which manufactures feed supplements, for a decade.

Gambill served two different terms on the county commission, covering a total of six years.

He was elected to a two-year term in 1994 and then to a four-year term in 2000.

He was a member of the Saint Francis Medical Center Board of Directors for several years.

In 1994, he received the Rush H. Limbaugh Service Award, the highest honor given by the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce.

“He was very witty,” Mehner said.

Gambill was “a huge Green Bay Packers fan,” added Mehner, who also roots for the storied National Football League team.

Gambill served on the county commission with Gerald Jones.

Jones, who was then the presiding commissioner, was a close friend of Gambill.

Jones said his friend had “a great business” sense and displayed “good, common sense.”

“We never had an argument,” Jones said.

Gambill loved golf, his friends said.

“He was fun to play golf with,” Jones said. “He just had a quip going on all the time about golf.”

Cape Girardeau Mayor Harry Rediger said he and Gambill and their wives were “great friends” who traveled together.

Like Jones and Mehner, the mayor remembered Gambill’s wit.

“You couldn’t be around Joe without laughing,” Rediger said.

Gambill’s friends said the former commissioner loved to collect rocks.

“He loved to go quartz hunting in Hot Springs, Arkansas,” Rediger recalled.

Gambill was “a geologist by trade,” the mayor said.

Mehner said Gambill had “an unbelievable rock collection.”

“I can’t say enough good things about him. He is really going to be missed,” Jones said.

Visitation for Gambill will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Sunday at Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau.

A funeral Mass will be at 10 a.m. Monday at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, with the Rev. Francisco Gordillo officiating.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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