He has become somewhat of an institution in the City of Dexter over the years. Those who don't know Joe Weber personally certainly know the Weber name.
Weber has had a presence in downtown Dexter at the family business, Weber's Ben Franklin, since the mid-1950s, and since 2002, has filled the seat of Dexter's mayor.
Approaching his 88th birthday, however, Weber made the decision recently to step down from the mayoral position, leaving the task to someone with a little younger blood.
"I had no ambitions as far as being mayor was concerned," Weber recalled recently from his perch looking over his variety store. "It's funny how that happened."
Weber and the late Sherm Smith -- mostly through an association on the golf course -- had become close friends over the years, and there came a time when Smith thought his friend would be a good fit for the top post on the city council.
"He told me one day, 'I'm going to run you for mayor." Weber said.
"I told him I didn't know if that was a smart thing to do," he laughs 15 years later, "but he talked me into it. I think we had three opponents that first year."
He had served as an alderman in the 1960s when the late Willis Conner held the office of mayor, but stepped down after one term when he considered it a conflict of interest to serve on both the Board of Directors for what was then Citizens Bank and the city council.
When Weber came on board as mayor in 2002, City Administrator Mark Stidham had been in the position only about one year. Weber believes that appointment was one of the best decisions the city ever made.
"For me, it's been great to have that professional in place. It certainly has made my job a lot easier."
Aside from presiding over Dexter's City Council meetings, the Dexter mayor says his job has entailed a degree of paperwork, but again crediting the city administrator's position, he says the job has not been an overwhelming one.
"Most of the problems are addressed to Mark (Stidham). I'm not going to say it's always been easy, but it certainly would have been a lot more work without Mark in place."
Weber has been witness to a multitude of changes of the past 15 years. He readily says the most noteworthy has been the upgrading of vehicles and equipment within the city's various departments -- police, fire department, water, street and sanitation.
Referring to the fire department equipment, Weber notes, "We've saved two or three downtown building with that equipment. They keep the vehicles in good shape and they train (police and fire) well.
"Everything's a lot more complicated than it used to be," he adds.
Weber also noted the city's excellent record of safety over the years.
"It's just been a pleasure to see the city run as smoothly as it has, and that's a credit to every department. Basically, though, we've planned fairly decently. It's just been a well run city, and that takes more than one person."
The mayoral position was hardly the beginning of Weber's service, both to country and community. He volunteered for military service in the Air Force as a college student in 1951 and came home from the Korean War as a decorated pilot. He has served on countless boards and councils, but among one of his most noted accomplishments is the role he and his late wife, Joyce, played in establishing the Stoddard County Association for Retarded Citizens (ARC).
In 2016, Weber was selected as a recipient of Lt. Governor Peter Kinder's Veterans Service Award.
Weber will continue to preside at Dexter's City Council meetings until the April municipal election. After that date, although he won't have a seat at the council table, he will still be found in downtown Dexter, reporting nearly daily to Weber's Ben Franklin, just as he's done for more than six decades.