Joseph F. “Spider” DeWitt

Joseph F. “Spider” DeWitt, 78, of Van Wert, passed away, with his family by his side, at 12:43 a.m. Tuesday, September 5, 2023, at Vancrest of Van Wert.

He was born on August 13, 1945, in Grover Hill, to Herman and Inella (Kohn) DeWitt. He was partially raised by his grandfather and grandmother Kohn. He married the former Connie Featheroff August 28, 1964, and she survives. Together, they shared over 59 years of marriage.

He retired from Chrysler in Van Wert after 28 years of service and then worked for GKN in Van Wert for another five years before retiring. Spider loved the Lord. He was a Christian for 30 years and a member of Calvary Evangelical Church in Van Wert.

He loved to travel and play bingo at Timber Ridge Campground in Van Wert with his friends. Timber Ridge was a special place for him. Spider was also very proud to call Grover Hill his childhood home and treasured his friendships from when he was younger. Friendships he continued to treasure throughout his life. Spider also considered Connie’s friends and coworkers from Teleflex, friends of his as well.

Spider considered himself a professional “Facebooker”. He had over 5,000 friends with whom he communicated. It wouldn’t be uncommon for him to hand out his Facebook business cards to everyone he met. He even included a “tip chart” on the back of the card so people would have a reason to hold on to it.

Surviving are his wife, Connie DeWitt of Van Wert; a daughter, Shelly Lynne Brown of Van Wert, and a son, Steven Slade (Raquel) DeWitt of McKinney, Texas. He was Papa Joe to his grandchildren, Britni (Billy) Roth, Kayla (Brandon) Williams, Hillary Wells, Tia Tate, Kathy (Cory) Tate and Sterling (Elizabeth) DeWitt; his great grandchildren, Noah, Corbett, Dalton, Mason, Cooper, Adilynn, Juniper and Waylon, and his two “adopted” granddaughters, Destiny Brown and Alexis Runser. Spider is also survived by a brother-in-law, Brad Featheroff of Las Vegas, Nevada.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his mother and father-in-law, Earl and Becky Featheroff, and sister-in-law, Teri Featheroff.

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Monday, September 11, at Alspach-Gearhart Funeral Home and Crematory, Van Wert, with Rev. Clark Williman, officiating. Interment will immediately follow in Middle Creek Cemetery, Grover Hill. Visitation will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday at the funeral home.

In keeping with Spider’s wishes, he would like those who will be attending his services to allow any person with a handicap to bypass the receiving line and seek out Connie and the family directly.

In lieu of flowers, preferred memorials: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or to Calvary Evangelical Church in Van Wert.

To share in Spider’s online memorial, visit www.alspachgearhart.com.