Obituary for Author Rel Joiner
A Glimpse of Author Joiner
On January 31, 1954 in Anacoco Louisiana God blessed Henry and Neva Joiner with their first-born son, Author Rel Joiner,I.
Under the spiritual and parental guidance of Mrs. Neva Joiner, Author accepted Christ at an early age and was baptized by the late Rev. Harrison at Pleasant Hill Baptist Church in Leesville, Louisiana. As an adult, the majority of his life was lived in the Baton Rouge/Baker, Louisiana area. While living in Baker, Author became a member of the Shady Grove Missionary Baptist Church where he served on the deacon board until his health began to decline. After relocating to his hometown, he returned to Pleasant Hill Baptist Church for the last six years of his life.
Throughout his formative educational years Author received many academic and athletic accolades. Author was a 1972 graduate of Leesville High School. After graduating, Author enlisted in the United States army and served his country during the Vietnam Conflict.
After service to his country, Author was blessed to achieve one of his life-long goals and became a member of the Jaguar Nation. Author earned an Undergraduate, Masters and Juris Doctorate degrees from Southern University. When Author would say “SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY” he had said it all. He was proud to say, “I’m a second-generation Southern alumnus, my uncle Boyd graduated from Southern and I encouraged all of my brothers to attend Southern University.” His proudest bragging rights came when his son David, earned his undergraduate degree in History from Grambling State University and his Masters degree in History from Louisiana Tech University and in addition to that his youngest son, Daniel graduated from Southern University as the Chief Academic Officer of his graduating class and Harvard Law School.
Author had an unwavering love for his mother. When he looked at his mother he would have a big smile on his face, it was the same smile he had as a child. He would often sit with his mother and talk about the bible, pray and listen to the stories about family history that she shared with him. This was an ongoing part of their relationship and when he would say, “MOM” he had said a mouthful and vise versa she would smile and say “Author.” The mother-son relationship they shared was beautiful and never ending.
When it came to his siblings, although Author was not the oldest, he considered himself to be the leader of the pack. He had a special relationship with each one of his siblings, Emma-Second mama, John- Kept him with a smile on his face and a nod of the head, Dennis- Hunting and fishing, Bernadette- She never grew up to him and was always his baby sister and last but not least Joann and Lawrence- His ride or die not matter what the circumstances may have been. Author loved his siblings and the love was reciprocated.
Author was blessed with five sons and a daughter. When it came to being a family man, Author’s children had the best of the best. In addition to instilling the word of God and prayer into his children he also instilled the importance of loving one another and helping people. He always told his children to put your faith and trust in God and everything would be alright. Anyone who knew anything about Author knew about the genuine love he had for his children. In Baton Rouge, his sons from the oldest, Theodore to the youngest Daniel were known as Joiner’s boys. Author was a hands-on father from cutting the lawn, practicing baseball and football with his sons and teaching them math, history, and philosophy, checking the oil in vehicles to studying the classics and everything else in between. From time to time, Author would even cook something for his sons, his mom’s banana pudding recipe being one of their favorites. Author often shared bible scriptures with his children; one most memorable was James 2:14, “Faith Without Works is Dead.”
His oldest son, Theodore was notorious for sticking his chest out and saying, “I have a good daddy, my daddy taught me how to be a real man, how to treat a lady, how to be a good father and how to respect people in general.” Ironically, Theodore would often hear, “Oh I can look at you and see that you are Author Joiner’s son.”
His only daughter, Surnovia had the best dad that any girl could ask for. He shared a special bond with his daughter, continuously praising and encouraging her to be the best that she can be. His daughter mirrors him when it comes to compassion and helping people. As a young child, she said to her daddy, “Daddy I’m going to take care of my brother Lil Author when he needs someone to care for him,” and when the time came he did not have to remind her, she said to him, “Daddy it’s time for me to do what I said I was going to do for my little brother,” and she continues to do so.” She also enjoyed listening to her dad sing gospel songs throughout the house and their love of classical music.
His son Lil Author loved his dad and would follow him to the end of the earth. He will always cherish the memories of him and his dad on the basketball court, baseball field, and the fishing creek. Lil Author also shared his father’s love of sports.
His son David took after his father’s sharp memory and they shared a love for history. They would often discuss historical events and arguments while intertwining dates of different events and names of different leaders. Author also taught David how to pitch and one of his favorite past-times was watching David pitch, at times talking trash to the opposing teams’ parents or players.
His son Daniel took after his father’s analytical mind, his love of reading, and followed in his footsteps as an attorney. They would discuss philosophy, religion, and societal issues together. Author always encouraged Daniel that he could do anything, and encouraged him to apply and later gain admission to Harvard Law School which was a shared dream of theirs.
Author practiced law in Baton Rouge for more than twenty-five years and he had a reputation of being the people’s lawyer. It was often said, “Attorney Joiner really cares about his clients, it’s not about the money for him.” His sons were often told by his colleagues, “Your dad is one of the best trial attorneys in the profession.”
Author was preceded in death by his father Henry Joiner and a son, Julius Coates.
To cherish his memories, he leaves four sons and one daughter, Theodore Lionel Jopes, Surnovia Denise Jopes, and Author Rel Joiner, II, of Baker, Louisiana. David Aristotle Joiner (Jennifer, Esq.) Sacramento, CA and Daniel Ethan Joiner, Esq. Long Island City, New York. The mother of his children Ms. Bernadette Jopes-Joiner, Baker, LA and his mother Ms. Neva Jane Joiner, Leesville, LA. Four brothers, John Joiner Houston, TX, Lawrence Joiner (Sheila) Denver, Colorado, Dennis Joiner ( Yosenia Paula), Leesville, LA and Four sisters Joann Jackson (Lennie) and Emma Jean Mott (Herman) Leesville, LA and Bernadette Griffin (John) Longview, TX. Five grandchildren, six great-grandchildren and host of nieces, nephews, relatives and friends.
A funeral for Author will be held at 10:00 a.m on Wednesday, December 28, 2022, at Pleasant Hill Baptist Church of Leesville with Reverend Joseph Garner officiating. Burial take place at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, December 29th at Louisiana National Cemetery, 303 W. Mt. Pleasant Zachary Road, Zachary, LA 70791.
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Previous Events
Funeral
Wednesday
28
Dec
10:00 AM
Pleasant Hill Baptist Church of Leesville
1210 Mw Harrison St.
Leesville, LA 71446
Graveside
Thursday
29
Dec
10:00 AM
Louisiana National Cemetery
303 W. Mt. Pleasant Zachary Road
Zachary, LA 70791
Cemetery Details
Location
Louisiana National Cemetery
303 W. Mt. Pleasant Zachary Road
Zachary, LA 70791
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