The most emotional moment I’ve experienced in my adult life was the birth of our daughter, Rachel on April 8, 1998.  It seemed like one moment I was laughing with joy and the next moment I was crying with joy.  I still remember holding Marcy’s hand, holding Rachel for the first time, then hugging Dr. Joe Nussbaum in the delivery room at Knox Community Hospital, clutching onto him and thanking him as the tears flowed openly.  By that point, I think everyone else in the delivery room was crying, too!

Today I learned of Dr. Joe’s passing at the age of 70.  Friends, this was a man that had an incredible impact on the lives of many Knox County families.  I know the Rinehart family is not alone when we say Dr. Joe will always have a special place in our hearts. 

I met Joe for the first time when I was calling Mount Vernon High School football and basketball games on the radio.  His son John was an assistant coach for the football team, and I had the privilege of watching his youngest children, twins Jim and Anne, compete in football, plus boys and girls basketball.  Both Jim and Anne attended MVNU and I was able to continue watching Anne’s career as a member of the Lady Cougars basketball team.  I admired Joe because he and his family were always a fixture at games and wildly supportive of their children.  I’m sure that wasn’t easy considering Joe’s constant “on-call” status. 

My wife will be the first to tell you that she doesn’t like going to the doctor’s office…but she trusted Dr. Joe implicitly and valued his expertise…and so did I.  Early in our marriage, Marcy found out she suffered from endometriosis, and it was Dr. Joe who walked us through the uncertainty and helped us through it…a couple years later he did it again when we suffered a miscarriage, then shared our joy when Rachel arrived.

So to his wife Christine and the Nussbaum family, our prayers are with you…we will miss Joe but are so thankful we had the honor of calling him “our doctor.” 

-Joe