Joseph Pridgen

Joseph Matthew Pridgen



July 6, 1947-January 28,2021



Joseph was born July 6, 1947 to William Henry and Nannie Cleatrice Pridgen in Baltimore,



Maryland. He was the oldest of 10 children along with 4 half siblings. He graduated from



Edmondson High School in 1964 and immediately entered the Air Force. His Air Force career



took him to Vietnam then on to Thailand, Cambodia and other countries. He was a man gifted



in picking up other languages. When the Air Force realized that gifting, they sent him all over to



the "hot spots" to gather information. He did that for 13 years and loved his service to our



country. He was discharged as circumstances of life demanded less travel and more stability.



He went straight from the Air Force to work in the USPS in many capacities including mail



carrier, some investigation work, teaching safe driving to some that struggled etc. with no break



in service. He retired from there in 2012. He met his wife, Janet, in 2014 and they were



married in 2015. Between them they had 9 children, 26 grandchildren and 10 great-



grandchildren. Joseph was raised in a Godly home but had many experiences that left him



wondering about God. However, God never left Joseph's side as he would realize later in his



life. He had several events that led him to church again in 2000 where he once again



surrendered his life to his Heavenly Father and began serving our King of Kings. Joseph lived the



rest of his life serving God by loving and teaching others the truth. He couldn't wait to share



with others what he had found. He always helped anyone in need. He developed a heart for the



homeless and once a month he and Janet went to the streets of Phoenix with others to provide



them with love, food, water, Bibles, encouragement and conversation. He never pushed



anyone but was always right there to share his God with anyone who had questions. Joe had



many passions and lived to help others. He enjoyed sports especially golf and loved horses and always cheered on the home



teams. You could find him at the Diamondbacks and AZ Cardinals games often. He also devoted



many hours to coaching baseball, teaching martial arts and spending time with his family. The



deepest desire of Joseph's heart was to meet God face to face and hear him say "well done



my good and faithful servant...Welcome home where you belong".



Survivors are wife, Janet Pridgen, children Chintana {Scott}, Matthew {Breann},



Zenus {Melinda} and Celestine {John}and Step children Michelle, Gregg, Christy, Amicia and



Axel, 26 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren, 7 brothers and 1 sister.