Joe was born on November 18, 1965 as Joel Clark Schraufnagel in a small Wisconsin town named Elroy.

He was the youngest of two boys, and attended Royall High School and later graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Arts, and a Master’s Degree in English.

Joe studied and loved music, television, and film. He could cite almost any movie’s cast and year, and had an ongoing fascination with the 1960’s and 1970’s eras. Joe drove a taxi around Elroy and neighboring towns, and had many a tale of picking up the locally overserved. In one instance, having to carry a passed-out man out of the cab, and having to wake up his wife to collect the fare.

He moved to New York City in 2000, after college and began his writing career. After seven years in Brooklyn and Manhattan, he lived in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Lake Havasu before returning to Wisconsin to live with his family in 2015.

Later that year in July, Joe suffered a massive stroke at 49 that rendered him (temporarily) paralyzed on his left side. Months of physical therapy improved his mobility and he was able to walk again and regain control of his arm and hands. He would often type with one hand to keep in touch with his thousands of Facebook followers.

Joe passed away on September 16, 2020 from a second cardiac event in Hillsboro, WI. He was 54.

A songbird sings outside and a doe darts through the woods…

Joe always expressed a deep fondness for Wisconsin and its natural beauty.