Commissioner Joiner remembered, honored

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By Christa Jennings
Senior staff writer

District 4 County Commissioner and veteran Ronnie Joiner was remembered and honored for his years of service during his funeral last Friday, February 6.

Joiner passed away Monday, February 2, with visitation and funeral held last Friday at Pleasant Hill Church outside of Rockford.

In light of his passing, the County Commission held an emergency called meeting Thursday regarding a resolution to close the courthouse and county offices early the following day. It was noted that the closure was to allow county employees the opportunity to attend Joiner’s visitation and service.

The emergency meeting came about after Commission Chair Lamar Daugherty and County Administrator Amy Gilliland looked into the issue and could not find any concrete information or guidance on closing county offices under circumstances such as this. As such, county attorney John K. Johnson drafted the resolution for closing the courthouse pursuant to Section 11-1-8 of the Code of Alabama.

The Commission unanimously approved and adopted the resolution during its emergency meeting. Daugherty said at the time that he thought it was the right thing to do, but that it took some time because of them having to look into it.

Because of that, the Coosa County Courthouse and all county offices closed at noon last Friday in honor of Joiner and to allow employees to attend his funeral if they wished.

Following the visitation, Joiner was remembered fondly and spoken of highly by officiants Matthew Reams and Jeff Hardy, pastors; as well as Judge of Probate and U.S. Air Force veteran Richard Dean, Rep. Ed Oliver and Robert Shaw.

Each speaker recalled Joiner’s innumerable acts of service, including for his country, his county, his community, and many individuals.

Many of them also spoke of Joiner’s faith and that he knew he was not perfect, but recalled how he did his best to help and serve others. Oliver recalled childhood stories growing up with Joiner, as well as knowing him over the years in an official capacity as they both represented Coosa County as elected officials.

Dean spoke of Joiner and the military stories they shared, as well as speaking of Joiner on a personable and professional level. He recalled Joiner’s visits to his office, as well as times they would sit in the rocking chairs in town and talk.

However, regardless of stories told and memories shared, all five speakers spoke on Joiner’s service and his willingness to help those in need throughout his life. Some mentioned that in his final days, Joiner still planned to help individuals with various projects and needs, saying that if someone brought up something he would say he was going to get to it as soon as he could.

“It was ingrained in every fiber of his being,” said Matthew Reams, pastor and officiant.

Reams mentioned a quote by John Wesley that he found inside the front of Joiner’s Bible, “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”

He spoke on how that fit Joiner and his character, always doing what he could for others, with Reams sharing personal stories of Joiner helping him and the community over the years.

Joiner was elected to county office in 2018 and served two terms as county commissioner for District 4 until his passing.

Prior to being a county commissioner, Joiner was a founding member of the Kellyton Town Council and served as a councilmember there before later moving to Rockford. He then served on the Rockford Water Board and also most recently served as vice president of the Coosa County Historical Society.

In addition to his community service and various positions held over the years, prior to that Joiner served his country in the U.S. Army Reserves and National Guard, retiring with 34 years of military service with distinction as a first sergeant.

Full military honors for Joiner’s service; including the somber folding and presentation of the U.S. flag that draped his casket, a firing squad, the playing of “Taps,” and serving as pallbearers; were provided from Fort Benning in Columbus, Ga.

“I will always remember Ronnie being a good soldier, a patriot and a kind, good and generous man with a fantastic sense of humor,” Judge Dean said. “It has been my privilege to have known him. Ronnie, my friend, take honor in knowing you have done your duty, and until we meet again, I ask God to hold you firmly in His hand.”