Joel Stephen Whitman Jr., 73, returned to our Eternal Father in Heaven on Friday, February 12th, 2016 at Promise Hospital in La Mesa, CA. He is preceded by his mother Frances, father Joel, brother Matthew, and son Troy. He is survived by his two sisters Martha and Elizabeth, daughters April and Heathyr, grandchildren Ian, Jimmy, and David, stepmother Magdalena and her two daughters Yolanda and Mary. He was born January 22, 1943 in Seattle, WA to Joel Stephen Whitman and Frances Marian Thomas. He moved to California in 1946 and was raised in Torrance, CA. He graduated from Torrance High School in 1960, and attended El Camino Community College and Barstow Community College. As a student Joel played and coached basketball and had a lifelong love of the game as well as an enthusiasm for Ping-Pong. Joel was drafted into the US Army in 1967. He was an MP and worked as a sentry dog handler serving in Vietnam. Joel was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, and the Vietnam Campaign Medal. Joel met Lehsley A. Shores in Southern California during the Disco Era. Together they danced in all the disco hot spots of Los Angeles and Orange Counties during the 1970's. Joel enjoyed disco dancing so much that he started his own business and became a freelance dance instructor. He and Lehsley were married in Inglewood, California, November 20, 1980 and were blessed with three children, Heathyr, April, and Troy. Joel and Lehsley Whitman began their family in Torrance, but later settled in Lake Arrowhead, California where the three children grew up. Joel enjoyed a forty-year career in private security. His dedication to his job was one of his defining characteristics, and he will be missed by his friends and family.