Joel Meador was born in 1940 to Cecil and Georgia Meador in Meridian, Texas. He grew up in nearby Cranfills Gap and later graduated from Tarleton State University.
He was a Army veteran, having served 1964-1980 including two tours in Vietnam. He later became an educator and taught school in both Copperas Cove and McCamey, Texas.
Joel was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1998 after retiring from his career as a school teacher.
He passed away in 2003 in Stephenville, Texas, and was survived by his wife, Judith, and children, Jennifer and Jeffrey.
The Michael J. Fox Foundation is dedicated to finding a cure for Parkinson's disease and to ensuring the development of improved therapies for those living with Parkinson's today. The Foundation is the world's largest nonprofit funder of Parkinson's research, with more than $800 million in high-impact research funded to date.
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