Toerner 'not going anywhere'
Badin QB's father enjoying life, not letting anything, including ALS, hold him back.
By Jay Morrison

Staff Writer

Friday, November 07, 2008

HAMILTON — When Joe Toerner was diagnosed with the incurable amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in May, it wasn't the first time he had received devastating medical news.

On June 20, 1994, while vacationing with his pregnant wife, Lori, in Myrtle Beach, S.C., Joe had a body-surfing mishap where he got caught between overlapping waves that drove him head first into a sand bar.

The impact busted out six teeth and cracked his C1 and C2 vertebrae, forcing him to wear a halo for nine months.

Ever the optimist, Joe didn't view it as an accident, but rather a blessing that enabled him stay home and care for his newborn son — and future Badin High School starting quarterback — Zach.

"I got to stay home with him full time when Lori went back to work," Joe said. "It was awesome."

And so began a special father-son bond that repeated itself a few years later with the birth of Joe and Lori's youngest son, Matt.

Today, that bond is stronger than ever in the wake of that trip to the Cleveland Clinic when Joe was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease.

"I remember after we sat down and told the kids," Lori said. "One of the first things he said was, 'I'm not going anywhere. You don't need to worry about me. I plan on being around for a long time, at least another 10 or 15 years.' "

A 30-year employee of Coca-Cola, Joe still works full time during the day despite losing the use of his right arm. When someone brings a Pepsi product into the house, he uses his left arm to throw it out the back door and into the woods.

By night he goes from working man to the loudest cheerleader in Butler County, never missing one of the boys' games.

"I don't always know where he is because he moves around every three minutes looking for a lucky seat," Zach said. "But no matter where he is, you can always hear him up there in the stands."

There was one time when Zach did know where his dad was, and he couldn't believe his eyes. Standing in the middle of the Badin student section, Joe was screaming through a long megaphone.

"I had to," Joe explained. "They were boring."

That's one thing Joe has never been accused of being, boring.

"He definitely has the gift of gab," Lori said. "He's a salesman through and through."

Joe met Lori when she was working part time at the Oxford IGA while attending Miami University. She said he tried for two years to get her to go out with him before she finally agreed.

"I thought he probably acted like that with every girl he ran into at every store," Lori said. "But he was just a guy who wanted to have fun. He was always in a good mood, very upbeat and joking."

Joe continued with that chatty nature while coaching his sons' sports teams. He was never the head coach or the X and O guy. He was the motivational, let's-go-kick-some-butt coach.

"He was always more fired up than anyone else on the team," Zach said.

Joe gave up coaching when Zach reached middle school, but he still spends a lot of time around his sons' friends in the cozy confines of Joes' Bar & Grill, aka his basement.

"That's why I built it," Joe said. "I mean, we have adults over, too, but mostly its the boys and their friends and we sit around and play cards and video games and pinball. Last Saturday night, we had 16 of Zach and Matt's friends spend the night."

The place is so special to Joe and his friends that when 160 of them showed up for an ALS walk in October, they all wore JBG shirts. And Joe followed through on his promise to get a JGB tattoo if they got more than 100 people to take part in the fundraising walk.

"I have a very big network of friends and family," Joe said. "They've all been there for me before, and they're there now. And I just want to tell them thanks.

"They say when God closes a door, he opens a window," Joe added. "I just hope I'm around long enough to find that window to climb through."


Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2193 or jmorrison@coxohio.com.

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