Auburn football's student assistant coach Joseph Bagwell died Saturday, Sept. 22 before Auburn played LSU at 6 p.m. central time. At the request of his parents Jennifer Tarkington and Joe D. Bagwell, this is the official obituary issued by the Laughlin Service Funeral Home in Huntsville. Visitation and funeral information can be found below.
Joseph Malcom Bagwell, age 23, of Huntsville, AL, went home to be with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Saturday Sept. 22, 2012, from his earthly home in Auburn, AL.
Joseph is survived by his mother, Jennifer Tarkington and her husband, Bernd Billmayer of Huntsville; his father, Joe D. Bagwell of Huntsville; his maternal grandparents, Malcolm and Betsy Tarkington and Hedy Billmayer; and his brother and sister, Justin and Becky Billmayer, all of Huntsville. He is also survived by numerous aunts, uncles, and close cousins, as well as the entire Auburn University family and coaching staff.
He was preceded in death by his paternal grandparents, Buford and Martha Bagwell.
Joseph was a student at Auburn University and was on the coaching staff for the Auburn Football Special Teams and Offensive Line, serving as an assistant student coach. He was majoring in Health Promotion and would have received his B.S. degree in 2013.
Joseph was born without a right ventricle and had open heart surgery in 1992 at the age of three. Dr. Albert Pacifico performed that successful surgery at UAB. Dr. Paul Israel of Huntsville managed his heart condition over the next 15 years; and Dr. Edward Colvin of UAB Pediatric Cardiac Center provided care for Joseph for the last several years. The family gives special thanks to all the caregivers throughout Joseph’s life.
Joseph faced heart problems his entire life but overcame great obstacles and ultimately fulfilled his dream of being involved with Auburn Football, not as a player, but as a manager, and then finally as a member of the coaching staff that he so greatly admired. Joseph fought his final battle on Saturday, when he succumbed to a massive heart attack just hours before the Auburn game.
Visitation with the family will be on Wednesday, September 26, 2012 from 11:00 until 1:30 PM at Trinity United Methodist Church on Airport Road in Huntsville. The funeral service will be held at Trinity United Methodist Church at 2:00 PM with Jim Brinkerhoff, with Auburn Church of Christ, and Chette Williams, chaplain for the Auburn football team, officiating. Burial will follow at Maple Hill Cemetery.
Pallbearers will be Darron Barry, Jacob Hawk, Matt Bell, Joshua Hastings, Dedrick Lamar Ford, and Joe Louis Fleming. Honorary pallbearers will be Chris Parrish, Jeremy Hastings, Joshua Bagwell, and Jordan Bagwell.
For many years Joseph’s mother, Jennifer Tarkington, has raised funds in support of Huntsville Hospital’s pediatric cardiac patients, helping to provide lifesaving equipment for local children in need. In 2007 Jennifer and Company Photography started “Clicking for a Cause” because Jennifer and Joseph felt that this was their way of giving back to their community. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that gifts in memory of Joseph Malcom Bagwell be made to the “Clicking for a Cause” fund at Huntsville Hospital Foundation, 101 Sivley Road, Huntsville, AL 35801.
The family also requests that in celebration of Joseph’s life, family and friends wear the colors of Auburn University (orange and blue), which were his favorite colors, to the funeral service. “AU Family-ALL IN.”
2 Corinthians 12:10 – “That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
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