Joseph Handlin

All of you are here because in some way, shape or form, you knew Joe Handlin. Knowing Joe Handlin is more than just saying hi to a friendly face, even an acquaintance of his could tell you that he had a way of making anyone he interacted with feel special. I hope you all know how much love Joe has for you in his heart, and that is something that will never change, no matter where he is.

Joe was born July 14th, 1976 to an awesome set of parents named Mike and Marian Handlin. He was born in Darby, PA where they resided for a few years until the family decided they wanted to live in the best state ever, Delaware. Holy Angels school was where he spent a lot of his time in his younger years, being a hardworking and productive student, and learning to be an entrepreneur! He started his first business at Holy Angels, having kids pay him to do their homework. That, of course, led to his own homework not being done so that business was short-lived, but hey it's the effort that counts! He then decided to move onto football as his next step in his Holy Angels career. Though when starting High School at Christiana, Wrestling was his true calling. At Christiana High school, Joe was extremely involved; if he wasn’t at wrestling practice, he was in the green house he built for the FFA and the agriculture department. If any of you end up making your way over to Christiana High school, you’ll be able to see his greenhouse still intact, and his picture, as well as his brother Sean’s, on the wall by the auditorium.

Growing up, Joe was lucky enough to experience Wildwood summers with his family, which resulted in the best memories as well as friendships. Summers were well spent whether it was on 18th Street or 26th and Atlantic ave.

One time, in the backyard on 18th Street, he was told specifically not to pick any of great grandpop’s strawberries. What he ended up doing was holding his hands behind his back and just using his mouth. He never actually picked any, he chewed them. Many more funny stories like these occurred in Wildwood, Joe loved making insane memories with his siblings and his friends, he really met the best people during these summers, including his wife Krista. Crabbing and fishing trips, family parties, Boardwalk outings, long walks to Raleigh, Body surfing in the ocean, and many nights at Goodnight Irenes are just a few of the contributions to these awesome summers.

What was most important to my father, other than his family and friends, was his legacy, meaning what he left behind in this world. And boy did he leave a lot behind. He left his stinkin’ blinkin’ lawn for us to take care of, for one, which we all know we will never get as perfect as he made it. I’m telling you right now, I’m not going out there and cutting the grass with scissors. Sorry, Dad. He left behind his amazing dance moves, often while he was singing the wrong words to whatever song was playing. His moonwalk was a sight to behold, and I’m sure he and MJ are having a competition as I speak. We have a tough act to follow, I’ll tell you that much.

He left behind his smile, which many people loved so dearly. Dad had such a unique smile–it lit up his whole face to the point that you couldn’t help but smile back. Paired with that smile were the most beautiful piercing blue eyes, you all know the ones.

He also left behind everyone here. Whether you were as close to him as family or merely an acquaintance to him, if he knew you, you were his friend. I can’t talk about everyone here, as that would probably take until next year, but I would like to talk about a few people.

To Grandmom and Poppy: It’s easy to understand where he got his kind heart and generosity from. Us kids are so lucky to have someone you raised as a father, and his upbringing influenced how he raised his children. His respectable manners, his insanely unique personality, his kind soul, and his most popular aspect: his humor, all stem from growing up surrounded by endless love and support. His knowledge about fixing the most random household projects, his love for agriculture and doing anything outside are thanks to poppy. His love for the Phillies, his devotion to his faith, and his ability to light up any room he walks into is thanks to grandmom.

To Julie: Dad was always so incredibly proud of you and everything you did. He loved you so much and it was obvious in the way he treated you. I know I was his first son, but you were his first daughter, and that is a bond that was always so wonderful to see growing up. He was your best friend, but you were his right back. The memories we shared together of him growing up is something I will always cherish. You will forever be his Best Girl Julie Handlin

To Kenna: Dad always talked about how he could never be someone's biggest fan because everyone should be their own, but I believe there was an exception with you. He loved talking about you when it came to absolutely anything and everything–from how you were doing in school, to your latest gymnastics practice, to the Lego set you had built with him, and your Mark Rober engineering projects. If he could have spent every second with you, he would’ve done so without hesitation. You will forever be his best girl Kenna Mae Handlin.

To Aunt Marian and Uncle Mike:

You are responsible for some of the utmost crazy stories that we grew up hearing. You two are also major contributors to my dads funny and charming personality. I mean he had to practice his jokes and mannerisms on someone. You both are also the reason he was an amazing uncle. You shared your children with him and he loved his nieces and nephews like they were his own, as do you both. He always spoke so highly of you to us, making sure we knew how important our siblings were, that no matter what happened to our parents, our siblings always had our backs, and I can confidently say he was right. Growing up was amazing having such a tight knit family because of the amazing relationships you three had. Though it may just be the two of you down here now, just know that Joe and Sean are up there causing enough mayhem for the four of you.

To Joey: While I was his first daughter, you are his only son which is pretty dang special. Watching the two of you create an amazing bond is something that I'm glad I was able to witness. There were always inside jokes, special hangouts, and moments that I know you’ll never forget. Dad will always be proud of you, no matter what, he’s proud of all of us. You will forever be his Best Boy Joey Handlin

To Krista: Meeting Joe in 1996 at the 18th Street and beach house rental was memorable for the both of you, let's not forget who introduced them though! Thanks Uncle Sean. You and Joe were able to come together full circle in 2009 when Joe slid into your Facebook messages with a classic “sup hottie”. Joe loved you so dearly and your love for one another was inspiring to see. Now, 15 years later you have permanently been a part of the Handlins' lives and have helped raise 3 beautiful children. We are so happy to have you in our lives and even happier to say you're stuck with us no matter what! Dad couldn’t have handpicked anyone better to carry on his parenting.

To all of the friends and family in this room:

You were his support system. You all made such an impact in his life, whether it was small or big, you mattered to him. He always made sure to include as many people as he could in his everyday life, even if that meant sending a selfie of himself in a t-shirt or tie one of you bought him, or calling you up when he was by your house, or just simply shooting you a text with his Tesla referral code. We just wanted to thank you all for coming here for our dad, I mean it truly feels like family football and the family Christmas party collided. He’d truly be moved by the amount of people he touched and the amount of people who loved him. Who love him, because we will never stop loving him. I hope that every time all of us have our coffee in the morning, or cut our lawns at the most random time of day (7pm was his favorite, but ask our neighbors and they would most likely say it wasn’t theirs) , or feel the Wildwood sun on our faces, and smell the salt air of the ocean, we know that Dad is smiling down at us. We are his legacy, and I can’t think of a more honorable position for us to be in.

A quote that has recently been shared with our family that really hit hard is that “Everyone gets the chance to be young, but not everyone gets the chance to be old.” While we may have joked to our dad that he was old, he was not given that chance to truly become old and I don’t say this to make you sad, I say this as I am hoping that you carry the memory of Joe with you as well as that quote when moving on in life. Don’t forget to hug your loved ones tight, to dance hard and to love even harder. Don’t forget to tell jokes, laugh at the ones you tell, and to be your biggest fan at all times. Don’t sweat the small stuff, nothing is ever that deep, have those hard conversations and make those plans that you never thought you’d have to worry about because you truly never know what God has in store.

Every family dinner, or goodnight prayer my dad would ask us what the worst and best part of our days were, so to continue fueling his legacy I thought I would share mine with you all too. The best part of my day was getting to see how many people truly love Joe Handlin and the support all of you are providing my family and I. We truly appreciate every single one of you. The worst part of my day is saying goodbye to you dad, though we know we’ll never really get rid of ya, none of us will. Joe Handlin may not be physically here anymore, but he will forever be here, whether it is through his legacy, a cardinal in the backyard, a dime on the ground, or a song randomly playing on the radio, he’s never really leaving us. As I give the podium back, I’ll ask you all for one thing, that being to celebrate life in memory of Joe Handlin. However you choose to do that is up to you, just don’t forget to add in a stinkin’ blinkin’ or a “your mom” joke every once in a while while you do it. See you around like a donut dad. We love you.