Joe Douglas Spann, Jr.

Joe Douglas Spann Jr., born November 26, 1966, passed away at home not long after a medical procedure on September 9, 2026, at the age of 59.

Joe was preceded in death by his parents, Joe Douglas Spann Sr. and Margaret Inez Work Spann; his paternal grandparents, Clarence and Mary Spann; and his maternal grandparents, William and Mary Work all of whom resided in Dickson County, Tennessee.

Joe is survived by his children, Jackson Brian Spann, and Jodie Danielle Spann (Lester) Noble, and his granddaughter, Harper Danielle Noble. (Fairview TN)

Joe’s life, like so many lives, was a journey of both success and struggle, joy and hardship.

The Joe we knew was smart, accomplished, and hard-working, with a creative spirit and a deep connection to his family and community. Joe had a distinctive, gentlemanly Southern drawl and a personality that made him the kind of person who never met a stranger.

Joe’s mother, Margaret Work Spann, instilled in him a love of learning. His father, Joe D. Spann Sr., a retired career military man, taught him the value of hard work, discipline, and responsibility. Joe’s parents were immensely proud of their son. Joe was their only child.

Joe graduated from Dickson High School in 1985, in the top 20 of his class, and went on to attend Austin Peay State University on a full scholarship. He graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and a minor in Computer Science. Joe earned several scholarships during his academic years and served as a teaching assistant to a disabled professor of accounting, accomplishments that reflected the intelligence and determination that came naturally to him.

Joe met his former wife, Genny Freeman Spann, while they were both students at Austin Peay. Although both were studying accounting, their courtship began in a theater class. For a required attendance at a performance of Arsenic and Old Lace, Joe asked Genny to accompany him. She agreed only if he would participate in a Dress for Success seminar. Three months later, he proposed, and they were married the following year.

Joe went on to become a Certified Public Accountant. He began his professional career as an auditor with the CPA firm Deloitte & Touche and later joined LBMC. Joe had an exceptional mind for accounting, corporate taxes, and auditing, but his abilities went well beyond numbers. He was also a talented creative writer and enjoyed the theater. Both Joe and his former wife shared a love of the theater that continued throughout the years, and they attended many plays as season ticket holders at TPAC.

Together, they welcomed two children, Jackson Brian Spann and Jodie Danielle Spann, and later became the grandparents of Harper Noble.

Joe’s heart was always connected to the family farm and the community where generations of Spanns had lived, worked, and loved. Joe worked on the farm, raised cattle, harvested hay, and grew tobacco alongside his father. He loved being outdoors, and there were few places where he was happier than sitting on his tractor. Being on that tractor was, in many ways, the best medicine for Joe.

Joe dreamed of building a home across from his grandparents, whom he lovingly called Pappy Jack and Big Mama, and living his life on the land he loved so much. Joe’s roots ran deep in the community.

There were many nights when Joe and his future wife watched the stars from the back of Joe’s old truck, parked in the middle of the very field where he dreamed of building his home. Those quiet moments captured something essential about Joe—his love of the land, his family history, and the place he considered his favorite place in the world.

Joe also loved the simple pleasures of life. He was a devoted Miami Dolphins fan and loved the Braves. He was passionate about NASCAR, especially Dale Earnhardt Sr., and enjoyed camping with friends and family during NASCAR race weekends. Joe treasured the race trips he made with his friends Jeff, Wade, and Dean.

Joe was particularly proud of his first truck, a red Dodge Ram pickup affectionately known as the “Goat,” which he purchased new with the cash he had earned from the farm as a teenager. It was another reminder of the connection between Joe and the land he loved.

For many years, Joe’s life followed the path he had worked so hard to build. He had a career he was proud of, a family, the farm he loved, and dreams for the future.

But as sometimes happens, life took an unexpected turn. The years that followed would bring challenges Joe could never have imagined and change the course of his life in ways no one could have foreseen.

But even in those difficult years, Joe showed remarkable strength.

As a result of the automobile accident, Joe spent about a year in the hospital and physical rehabilitation centers, where he faced the enormous challenge of learning to walk and speak again. Joe’s tenacity and determination during his recovery revealed a strength of character that those who witnessed it will never forget.

Joe’s father was especially proud of him during that recovery. And in one of the most tender moments of Joe’s life, the stern military man who had spent years teaching his son discipline and hard work cried when he saw Joe take his first steps in the halls of the physical therapy hospital.

In later years, Joe faced significant struggles with his mental health, compounded by the effects of the automobile accident. Those years changed the course of Joe’s life and brought tremendous challenges. Joe struggled in ways that were extremely tough for both him and those who loved him.

Joe’s final years were difficult, but they were only one part of his story. They do not erase the young man who earned scholarships, became a CPA, built a career, fell in love, raised a family, worked the farm, wrote, told stories, traveled to races, cheered for his teams, and dreamed of building a home on the land he loved.

They do not erase the Joe who was happy, friendly, funny, intelligent, hardworking, and deeply loved.

Joe’s children knew much of their father’s struggle in his later years, but they did not always have the opportunity to know the Joe that others knew before those struggles. For that reason, his family hopes his celebration of life will be more than a ceremony. They hope it will be a gathering of stories.

Share your stories. Tell them about his Southern drawl, his love of the farm, his “Goat,” his love of the “good ole days,” or the time he made you laugh—or perhaps shake your head. Tell them about the man who never met a stranger.

Those stories are part of Joe’s legacy, and they can give his children a glimpse of the father they may not have been able to know in the same way during his later years.

A celebration of Joe’s life will be held Saturday, October 10, at Spann Funeral Home. Friends and family visitation will be from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m., with the celebration of life service following at noon.

Joe’s ashes will be buried between his parents in Greenwood Methodist Cemetery and spread across the land that he loved dearly.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions be made in Joe’s memory to the Greenwood Cemetery Maintenance fund.

Arrangements entrusted to Spann Funeral Home & Cremation Services, located in Dickson, Tennessee.

Spann Funeral Home serves families throughout Dickson County including Dickson, Charlotte, Burns, White Bluff, Fairview, Bon Aqua, Lyles, and Cumberland Furnace, as well as other surrounding Middle Tennessee communities.