Joel Dabney Railsback

September 25, 1947 - January 25, 2021

Joel Dabney Railsback passed away on January 25th. 2021. Joel was born in Pine Bluff Arkansas on September 25th, 1947. From then until now his life has been full of adventure. Joel was fortunate to be born to great parents. His father was Glenn Albert Railsback Jr. and his mother was Virginia Dabney Railsback. Both parents embraced Joel’s bright mind and creative spirit. Both parents are deceased. Joel had three siblings. Glenn(deceased) Railsback, sister-in-law Susan Crain Railsback(deceased), sister Cynthia Stone, brother-in-law Tom Stone, Virginia Railsback Cooper (Jennie), and brother-in-law Fred Cooper(deceased). Joel’s strong family ties was the anchor for this adventurous young man. After graduating from the University of Iowa Joel began his adventures by spending 3 years in Australia and Tasmania teaching English and French. During this time he met Charmian Randolph, a young British woman from South Africa. Joel and Charmian were married and moved to Strong Arkansas where Joel continued his teaching career by teaching at Strong High School. Joel’s zest for adventure led him to Little Rock to pursue the art of making and restoring stained glass. You can see his work in many local churches and the dome in the lobby of the Capitol Hotel. The itch for adventure caught Joel again and he began plans to move to Japan. In 1983 he moved to Japan with a job teaching English to Japanese business professionals. This led to a 25-year career as a professor teaching in a University in Nagoya, Japan. During his 25 years in Japan Joel spent all holidays traveling to every country in the Far East fulfilling his dreams of adventure. Joel’s storytelling, his laughter, and his friendship is already missed. He was loved by friends all over the world. Joel’s good friend and traveling companion Hoshino Goichi was with him on all of the travels including many visits back to Arkansas. Joel and Goichi continued to visit back and forth until Goichi’s last visit in 2020.