Joseph Daniel Hebert

Joseph Daniel Hebert, 33, died Dec. 13, 2012, after 148 days in the cardiac intensive care unit at Sacred Heart Hospital in Spokane, Wash. Joseph fought valiantly every day, a testament to his sheer willpower and perseverance. He amazed everyone with his strength and gentleness.

In the nearly five months he was a patient at Sacred Heart, he managed to get an entire hospital caring and praying for his recovery. From his doctors to the gift shop ladies, from the lab techs to the ladies in the cafeteria, from his nurses to the cleaning crew, all were invested heavily in his wellbeing. Everyone wanted to know how their “Alaskan Joe” was doing. If he could accomplish this in just a few short months without ever leaving his room, imagine what he did for those who knew him during his lifetime.

Joseph was born Oct. 11, 1979 in Palmer. He attended Palmer High School and graduated in 1997. He was a member of the Palmer Polar Bear swim team as well as the Palmer High School swim team. He attended college in Memphis, Tenn., and also the University of Alaska Anchorage.

He worked for Nabors Alaska Drilling as a floor hand on the North Slope for more than 10 years. He didn’t always enjoy going to work, but he loved what he did. He was so proud of the fact that he was third-generation oil field. He made many new friends among his crewmembers and on his many adventures, but never neglected the friends he’d had all his life.

His very best friend was always his sister Chris. They were each other’s biggest fans, supporting and encouraging each other, sharing an almost extrasensory connection. From the day Joseph was born until the day he left they were inseparable. Many times they’d say to each other, “Remember, it’s you and me against the world.” They were always stronger when together.

Chris has been a teacher and coach in the Mat-Su Valley for 15 years and in all that time he was front and center at every award banquet, he hauled uniforms, sold popcorn and acted as driver and chaperone for her. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for his sister or for the many who were blessed to have called him friend, cousin, son, nephew or grandson. He was a loving, generous, thoughtful and loyal man with a wicked sense of humor and quick wit. He had a magnetic personality and shared his time and himself willingly with anyone who needed him.

On his Caring Bridge website there are more than 900 entries. Almost all of them mention his famous hugs. Joseph had a way of drawing you close to his chest and wrapping his arms around you tightly. He held you in his embrace and made you feel that nothing was more important to him than you. He always entered a room extending his arms for a hug to all who were there and he never left it without another of his hugs and an “I love you” to go along with it. In nearly every picture of him throughout his lifetime his arms are draped around a lucky and blessed recipient, more often than not it was his sister Chris. In some of those pictures, he is surrounded by his buddies’ children. Joseph had a way of being a “Pied Piper” — little kids trusted him. He was gentle, quiet and nonjudgmental with them. Even with their delightful imaginations it was no match for his and they adored him.

His little goddaughter, Emily, told her dad, “I know we’re sad daddy, but I’ll sing and dance and make it better.” That’s exactly what Joe would have done. His greatest gifts, besides the ability to love without limits, were his undying trust and loyalty for his family and friends and his unwavering faith. He attended St. Michael Catholic Church in Palmer. He was baptized there, made his first communion there and later his confirmation. He became a Sunday School teacher and was on the Archdiocese Youth Board. He never questioned his belief in God, which gives his grieving family and loved ones comfort.

“We will miss his smile, his wit and his remarkable sense of humor,” the family wrote. “We will miss his ‘happy dance,’ his passion and his faith and belief in all of us. We will miss his contagious love for life, great food and great music, traveling and sports. Many of us will miss those late night discussions on everything from football to literature to religion. With Joe, any moment could be poignant, hysterical, magical or simply silent. He could say more with one look than others may say in a lifetime.

“We are grief-stricken he had to leave us so soon, but we have left nothing unsaid and have nothing to regret; we cherished every single day of his life, every single moment we shared together. We are selfish, we want him here on earth with us, but we know in our hearts that of all the people in this world, ‘our Joe’ was the most deserving to begin an eternal existence free of all pain.

“His sister has a theory that Joseph had to leave so suddenly and unexpectedly — after battling and beating all the excruciating obstacles thrown his way — the day before the tragic shootings in Connecticut because God needed him to meet all those little children with his healing bear hugs that could fix anything. We completely agree.”

Joseph leaves parents, Sherran and Daniel Hebert; sister Chris Hebert and her partner Mieckal Delaney and his 5-month-old niece, River Jo’L Delaney; grandparents, Minos and Rita Hebert; grandfather, Robert Bearden; step-grandmother, Aida; “adopted” grandmother, Mary Rumfield; aunts and uncles, Barbara and Lee Underwood, David and Wendy Hebert, Ben Bearden, Lisa Bearden, Michael and Penny Bearden, Clifton and Lori Bearden, Kelli and Paul Chellgren, Janet Meaney and Larry Munoz, and Betty Person; numerous cousins, David, Amanda and Joel Hebert, James, Sara,and Michelle Underwood, Flint, Melissa, Samantha, Rachel, Rebecca, Jessica, Cory and Carson Bearden, Jack and Ben Williamson, Ann Marie, Chris Ann and Colleen Meaney, and Steven and Brian Person; and many “adopted” family members, including Brad and Neilee Smith, John, Brandy and (goddaughter) Emily Bishop, Jerry and Robert Grower, Gabe and Allison Layman, Toby and Stacey Beal, Ed Beeson, Bjorn Littlefield, Eric Palmer, Kristin and Matt Langhoff, Jason and Andrea Vallieres, Shanda Norton, Stephanie McEwen and all of his loved ones in Alaska, Tennessee, Louisiana, Florida, Connecticut and Washington.

Joe would also want to give a shout-out to his “Peanut Farm Saints Fans Family,” all his Nabors friends, the New Orleans Saints, the Seattle Mariners, and last but not least, the heroic doctors, nurses and staff at Sacred Heart in Spokane.

Joseph’s honorary pallbearers are David Mark Hebert, James Underwood, Joel Hebert, Flint Bearden, Cory Bearden, Jerry Grower, John Bishop, Gabe Layman, Brad Smith, Toby Beal, Steven Person and Ed Beeson.

Services are at 6:30 p.m., Dec. 27 at St. Michael Catholic Church in Palmer with a reception to follow.