He was born Jan. 31, 1968, in Parsons to Joe Allen Helms Sr. and Connie Kay (Wass) Helms. As a young boy, he grew up in Dennis. Joe attended Mound Valley Grade School and was a 1986 graduate of Labette County High School in Altamont.
From 1986 through 1991, he served in the U.S. Marine Corps and during the Gulf War had served as a crew chief on the HMH-465 Super Stallion. Upon his discharge, he was a maintenance supervisor at Wal-Mart Aviation in Bentonville, Ark. In July 1993, he joined the Army National Guard in Tulsa. In 1996, he was accepted for Warrant Officer Candidate School and Black Hawk Helicopter Flight School at Fort Rucker, Ala. Joe served over 20 years in the military. Following Hurricane Katrina, he and his sister, Jan, served in the cleanup effort in New Orleans through their National Guard unit.
He was an avid bow hunter and enjoyed Mopar drag racing his 1971 Plymouth Duster.
He married Joyce Manley on May 26, 1996, in Edna. They later divorced.
Survivors include two daughters, Kasey Jo Helms and Kayla Renee Helms, both of Oswego; his parents, Joe and Connie Helms of Dennis; his grandmother, Betty Wass of Dennis; a sister, Janine D. Buning and her husband, Dan, of Ozark, Mo.; a nephew, Bradley Bonewell; and two nieces, Brynn and Bree Bonewell.
He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Harold Wass, O.B. Helms and Gabe Helms.
The service will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at Forbes-Hoffman Funeral Home in Parsons. Burial will be in Harmony Grove Cemetery near Dennis. The family will receive friends from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday at the funeral home.
Memorials are suggested to the Disabled American Veterans and may be left at or mailed to the funeral home, P.O. Box 374, Parsons, 67357.
Online condolences may be left at www.forbeshoffman.com.
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