“Dearest Uncle John, the last of a great line,” posted his niece, Jane Love, in an online tribute in early August. “Truly, this will be our saddest funeral of all.”
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John ‘Joe’ Joseph Weekes was born on December 3, 1937 in Esk, Queensland.
The son of a blacksmith, he spent the first few years of his life living in a tent while his father worked on the construction of Somerset dam.
They moved back to Bowning, his father’s hometown, in 1940.
They took residence in a mud slab hut with a dirt floor, no running water, no electricity and a number of birds.
When his father passed away, Joe was 12 at the time, and became the man and provider of the house.
He left school at the age of 14. One of his first jobs was as a tyre fitter working in Yass.
This required him to ride his single speed pushbike nine miles (14.5 kilometres) to and from work each day along the Hume Highway.
Unbeknown to Joe at the time, the tyre industry would play a major part in his future life.
Playing for the Yass Magpies in what was then known as Group 8, Joe played in four premiership-winning sides in first and reserve grades.
One of his proudest rugby league moments came many years later during a dinner honouring Don Furner, who he played against in the 1950s.
When Don was asked who the hardest tackler he ever played against, he stunned the room when he said: “A bloke you have never heard of, by the name of Joe Weekes from Yass. When he hit you, you stayed hit”.
Having met Toni and marrying her in 1960, they moved to Goulburn in 1962.
He worked for the Dunlop Tyre Company on Verner Street and later as a manager at Firestone Tyre Company.
In the mid ‘70s, Firestone closed their operations Australia-wide and offered their managers the opportunity to buy the store.
Joe approached his old friend and Dunlop work colleague, Mick Brown, and Mick and Joe’s Discount Tyres began.
A great contributor to Mick and Joe’s success was his legendary customer service.
A great example of this was when a family travelling from Victoria to Queensland stopped to have a puncture fixed.
When Joe spoke to the driver, he said: “I rang a mate of mine in Melbourne to ask him if he knew of anyone that could fix my flat.
“He said that I had to drive to Goulburn and not to see anyone but Joe Weekes at Mick and Joe’s.”
This didn’t just happen once.
He loved people and loved having a chat. He seemed to know every second person in Goulburn and greeted anyone he met like they were his best friend.
Joe was also a very generous person, helping so many people, but never making a big deal of it.
It’s hard not to admire a man who had come from nothing and, armed with little more than a fighting spirit, could build a successful business and life, with the enormous respect from his family, friends and the community.
Joe Weekes passed away aged 79 years on August 4 at Bourke Street Health Service.
He was the dearly loved husband of Antoinette (Toni – deceased); the loved father and father-in-law of Chris and Fiona and Darrell and Wendy; and the loved Pa of Kia, Dillon, Courtney, Mitchell, Cameron, Connelly and Talyssa.
A Christian burial was held on August 10 at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church, North Goulburn, followed by interment at the Lawn Cemetery on Gorman Road, Goulburn.
- With thanks to Darrell Weekes, son of the late Joe Weekes
