A00437 - Joseph Emerett Sidney Compton III, Amherst College Class of 1971, John J. Pershing (Detroit, Michigan) High School, University of Michigan M.A. and Law Degree, Long Time Arlington, Texas Urban Planner
The next name on the Memorial List after Lawrence Carey Ragland, Amherst College Class of 1970, is Joseph Emerett Sidney Compton III, Amherst College Class of 1971. Joe, as he called during his Amherst days, was a graduate of John J. Pershing High School in Detroit, Michigan. At Amherst, Joe was an independent studies major. He was on the crew team and received the Slingerland award.
THE OBED FINCH SLINGERLAND MEMORIAL PRIZE
from the income of a fund established by an anonymous donor, is awarded by the Trustees of the College to a member of the senior class, who, during his or her first three years at Amherst, has shown by his or her determination and accomplishment the greatest appreciation of and desire for a college education.
Deceased August 20, 2016
In Memory
Heaven is wonderful, and Joseph Emerett Compton III, Esq. is doing fine. He told me so in our last conversation.
This is a sample of some of my experiences with the restless spirit I call Joe Compton.
Joe Compton was a gentleman with a gentleman’s name. An only child who greatly disliked that. A “people person,” but choosy about the people with whom he associated. Joe Compton was my friend. There was a connection between us that manifested itself through some of our big life events: I was at his wedding (and the one after that); he was my best man; I am proud to be his son’s godfather.
I met Joe during my freshman year at Amherst College. I was very happy to meet him because until then I was feeling that I had gotten aboard the crazy train, but Joe, one of the few people I can say that I’ve seen think, was someone I could really talk to. I had come to Amherst looking to find answers to great questions which require great effort in the answering. Surely through thinking and studying in a quiet place and talking with like-minded people, who valued reading, such an achievement was possible. With Joe it was. Joe was an insatiable scholar and well accomplished in academia and the person most responsible for me getting an Amherst degree. Until the end, we enjoyed arguing politics, racism and discrimination and also reviewing cold cases and arson investigations.
I am happy to say that I introduced Joe to the martial arts, which became a big part of his life. He opened my ears and expanded my understanding of the magic called Motown. He took me to Electric Avenue.
During our first year, both Joe and I were told that “for somebody to be on top, somebody had to be on the bottom,” and that we were on the bottom. But Joe, a strong man, born in Port Huron, Mich., but schooled in Detroit; a small town Everyman and tough inner-city kid combined, didn’t take kindly to this remark. Any attempt to assign him to second place was fiercely resisted.
Joe was not big on games, although he was a decent chess player. That should surprise no one since chess is a game of war. And Joe was about war. Not the type of war dominating the headlines, but the kinds of fights that Doc Savage fought: good over evil; order over chaos; fairness over unfairness. Joe was a warrior of God.
Joe told me that at 12 years old, he had given his life to God. I believed him. He understood that “love thy neighbor” doesn’t mean you have to like anybody. Joe once saved the life of a woman while she was yelling “Don’t let Chocolate touch me!”
Joe and I became brothers by choice. Both of our mothers recognized this. In fact, my mother once told Joe that it was a shame we didn’t grow up together. We both not only loved our mothers, we liked them as well. Make no mistake, however, Joe Compton was not a mama’s boy. He was a mother’s man. He was the kind of guy many parents want their daughters to marry: a protector with a handful of degrees; a lawyer with two black belts and a concealed (legally) .357.
One of my most unforgettable memories of Joe was of something that happened during our senior year. Joe was working and studying in New York City as an Urban Studies Fellow assigned to the Fire Chief’s office. On a visit back to the Amherst area, Joe reported that the not-yet-completed World Trade Center was being regarded as cursed or haunted because of the false fire alarms that came in daily from the new complex. Fire crews examined electrical components and every possible cause for the phantom calls, to no avail. On the morning of 9/11, Joe was the one who woke me and shouted at me to turn on the TV.
I’ll remember Joe when I see the smiling lady on the Starbucks cup, the sea god Mami Wata, who is also depicted on his karate patch and who represents our connection to the martial arts; for our love of Motown music, for firetrucks, for discussions on police brutality and riots, for memories of 9/11 and Detroit but most importantly for our last conversation and his message about heaven.
Wil Grandy ’71
Joseph Compton Obituary
Joseph Emerett Compton, III was born to Dollie Lee Johnson Compton and Joseph Emerett Compton, II in Port Huron, MI on June 8, 1949. He grew up in Detroit and he gave his life to Christ at an early age, at Vernon Chapel AME Church in Detroit.
He was the President of the 1967 Class of Pershing High School in Detroit, played basketball, and was the President of the chess club. He was a 1971 cum laude graduate of Amherst College, in Amherst, MA. Joseph loved learning and acquired three additional degrees. He obtained a Masters degree in African History, a Masters degree in Urban Planning and a Law Degree---all from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI. At the time of his death he was the Assistant Regional Counsel for the EPA in Dallas, TX.
His greatest joy was family and friends. He was married to his college sweetheart, Mattie Peterson Compton, and to that union, his only child, Joseph Emerett Compton, IV was born. Following a divorce, he remained close to the Peterson family, and considered his brothers-in-law, James and John, and mother-in-law, Mae Cora Peterson, to be family. He and his Johnson relatives had a connection that was that of siblings, rather than cousins.
Joseph was preceded in death by his parents. He leaves to celebrate his joyful life: his son, Joseph Emerett Compton, IV of Marietta, GA, cousins Yvonne Levison McGee (Byron) of Marietta, GA, Douglas Levison (Audrey) of Laurel, MD, Kenneth Johnson (Bonnie) of Upper Largo, MD, Ronald Johnson (Cynthia) of Odenton, MD, Lisa Gray of Port Huron, MI, Clifford Johnson of Louisville, KY, Doreen Brookrum of Palm Dale, CA, "Brother", John Peterson (Laura) of Fort Worth, TX, life-time family friend Patricia Brown of Port Huron, MI best friend Wil "Sage" Grandy of Washington, DC, and a host of extended family, friends, and colleagues across the nation.
The funeral service will be at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, August 27, 2016 in Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church preceded by one hour of visitation. Pastor Loretta Hazely will officiate. Burial will follow in Lakeside Cemetery. Smith Family Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. To send condolences, please visit smithfamilyfuneralhome.com
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