Joel Sanders, Jr.

Joel “Jody” Martin Sanders Jr went home to be with the Lord on Sunday, March 3, 2024. Jody was born in Gainesville, Fl in 1963 to Joel M Sanders Sr (deceased) and Betty Jo Sanders, who frequently remembers Jody “fixing things” AKA taking apart bicycles and toys to see how they work and leaving them that way. He was known by many and loved by all. He grew up in Dixie County where he attended elementary and middle school and moved to Jacksonville during his high school years, where he attended Temple and University Christian. He played football and soccer, if you can imagine that. He enjoyed playing sports, ridding off-road in sand dunes and mud, hanging out with friends and listening to music. He met his wife, Tracy at University Christian.

Jody married Tracy in 1983. They enjoyed spending time with friends and fishing. In 1994, they welcomed their first daughter, Kayleigh and two short years later in 1996 they welcomed their son, Kory. Jody and Tracy had many wonderful memories with their children, going to vacations in the mountains for Thanksgiving and the Keys in the summer. While the kids were growing up Jody frequently was either at the softball field or the motocross track. He instilled in his children a great love for the outdoors, especially the sea. It was common to spend weekends fishing, diving, and scalloping.

During this time he worked as a battery sales representative, where his customers quickly became his friends. He could often be seen trading fishing stories from the weekend and joking around with

Jody and Tracy divorced in 2009, and after that time he found the Lord. He became a member of Christian Family Chapel and was discipled by many Godly men, among them being Cortez Ragland.

Jody will always be remembered for his kind nature, the ability to make a friend in an instant, and his love for the sea. It’s hard to imagine him no longer being on the “Honky Cat” headed West out of Steinhatchee to bring back grouper and snapper, whether in or out of season.

Jody is survived by his mother, Betty Jo Sanders, his two sisters, Tammy (Edward) Parrot and Karen (Troy) Johnson, his two children, Kayleigh (Russell Shaver) Sanders and Kory (Hannah) Sanders, and his two grandchildren, Carolina Sanders and Casen Sanders.

In Lieu of flowers, please make donations to one of the following: Readiosity fund or the Missions fund at Christian Family Chapel.

https://cfcjax.com/give/

Crevasse's Simple Cremation is honored to serve the Sanders family.