Joseph (Joe) Mottlow was born December 19th, 1981 and went to eternity June 20th, 2023. Joe is survived by his Grandparents Don and Clara Kikta, and Nancy Mottlow, his parents Scott and Diane (Kikta) Mottlow, siblings Melissa (Giles)Hoel and Sam Mottlow. Loving Uncle Joe to Skyler, Sienna, Stone, Greyson and Pyper -step uncle to Jazlynne and Treyton Smith. He also left behind many Joe was proceeded in death by Grandparents Sam Mottlow, Nicki Rott, Uncle Don and beloved cousin Chelsea.
Joe was raised in Deerfield IL till the age of 17. He started working at the train station selling newspapers before school at the age of 12. Moving on next to a local drug store stocking shelves. Well liked at school as well as in the community Joe started making friends and relationships that are just as strong today as the day they met. A theme that followed Joe into adulthood and which makes Joe so special. Between Joes junior and senior year he and his family moved to Buffalo MN where Joe fell in love with all that living outside the city has to offer. Hunting, fishing, water sports filled his free time with Joes ever increasing group of friends. Joe went to community college and had a wide variety of jobs with making connections his primary career. Joe was an influencer in life, he seemed to innately see the best in everyone and make their best traits shine brightly. Joe recognized somewhere deep down all of us want to be seen and heard. Joe saw everyone! Remembered everyone and loved them for who they are- flaws and all. Then Joe would take it one step further and was present in their lives. Visiting, calls, texts and comments of social media posts reminded you Joe was always thinking and routing for you. Ending every interaction with a hug and a genuine “I love you”. Bringing people together and encouraging they make connections with each other is also part of his legacy. June of 2017, Joe was diagnosed with rare to adults type of aggressive leukemia. Joe battled and overcame it only for it to return and have to fight again 5 more times. Joe did not win the 6th and final battle. But how he endured this horrible time in his life was where all the world was able to “see” Joe. His positivity, his strength, his courage and most importantly, Joes love for others.
Joe didn’t whine about his health, he was determined to have fun with it. Joe reached out to others battling similar health problems and lifted them up mentally and physically. Getting groups together and making sure others feeling battle beaten knew they were supported, loved, laughed while Joe kept them moving. JoeJoeTough, as he was named and embraced became a movement with Joe as their captain – always smiling and ready to lend others a hand. JoeJoeTough, our Joe Mottlow was and is something special in this world.
The family of Joe Mottlow will having some sort of celebration of life for Joe later this summer - date and location will be determined.
Scott, Diane, Melissa and Sam would like to express their thanks for the overwhelming outpouring of love and support for the loss of their son and brother.
One of our favorite places to meet with little Miss Hannah would be the Safari. The first time we entered it the three of us look like we are unleashed in a candy store. We are running to the animals, as if it was our first time I had mentioned to Joe that Hannah is deathly scared of birds, he laughed and said I will get her to love the birds. Several attempts, Hannah still hated the birds. 😂 He brought a blanket the next time we met at the Safari and I said are you gonna lay down and take a nap he replies no I’m going to cover up Hannah in the birdcage so she can get closer to the birds without being scared😊!!! She got closer to the birds all right still scared as ever. Joe never gave up not on anything in this world. His dream came true. He got Hannah to absolutely love the birds 🦅!!!! As we all try to navigate through this life without our special Joe, there is one thing we all have in common, his ability to remain close to our hearts. Even the first day I met him we never liked goodbyes. We always said “until next time.”
Uncle Joe takes on Taylor Swift's Reputation Tour!
On August 31st, 2018, Uncle Joe took me to Maynard's with his friends before the concert to eat appetizers. Then he took me to the concert and we took fun photos and had a great time. Camila Cabello opened, and we caught the last portion of her performance. Then Taylor Swift came on. Uncle Joe liked to make little jokes while she would sing and playfully mock her. He commented on how she looked at herself a lot on the big screen and he said something along the lines of "she is in love with herself", my family later joked "looks like uncle joe and her are meant to be together" (because he loved sharing his life everyday through socials). Playful jokes. My first Concert and one I will never forget! 🖤
Joe Mottlow- Bucket list plane jump
Joe Mottlow- Celebration of Life photo video shown during service.
