Joseph “Joe” Day, left, is shown in his vintage firetruck with Akron Town Superintendent Aaron Gearhart. Day passed away on Jan. 13 at age 72. One of his former employees at Day Hardware, Megan Meinert said he would respond with “I am a good Day” when people told him to have a good day. Photo provided by Aaron Gearhart.

By Leah Sander
Staff Writer

AKRON — The death of resident Joseph “Joe” Day has left “a big void” in the Akron community, says Megan Meinert.

Meinert was one of several people who shared about Day, who passed away on Jan. 13 in town. The owner of Day Hardware and former Henry Township fire chief was 72.

Meinert said she first got to know Day when she asked if she could work in Day Hardware when she was 15.

“It was such a blessing to me to spend my youth growing up in the hardware store,” said Meinert, who worked there for seven years.

She called Day “a father figure to a lot of the youth.”

It was Day who bought Meinert her first cellphone when she left for college.

He also gifted her a pocketknife when she got married, which had belonged to his late son, Patrick.

Meinert called the gift “very special.”

She recalled Day’s knack for retaining knowledge, which fellow Day Hardware employee Jim Saner also remembered.

Saner said Day could recite the presidents of the United States in order along with each one’s vice president.

Due to Day’s presidential knowledge, Meinert said she would try to quiz him each President’s Day.

Saner said Day shared his passion for music.

“We always tried to stump each other” on music trivia, said Saner.

He noted Day “read a lot” and knew much about history, including that of the town.

“He was a very smart individual, very confident and very witty,” said Saner of Day.

Another employee in Day Hardware’s “family-type environment” as Meinert referred to it, was Linda Backus.

She described Day as being “very caring, generous, considerate and bull-headed.”

Day also “had a big passion” for the Henry Township Fire Department, said Saner.

A representative with the fire department said Day worked to bring new tools in, like getting the Jaws of Life for not only Henry Township, but other area fire departments.

“He was always trying to be innovative,” the representative said.

The representative also said Day “liked passing on all his knowledge” to younger firefighters.

Day “was a people person definitely,” said Saner.

Lori Tilden-Geiger, who co-owns The Grounded Coffee House at The Depot with her husband DeLynn Geiger, said Day was a regular at the business right next door to Day Hardware.

“We looked forward to him coming in every day at the same time before he got started for the day,” said Tilden-Geiger. “Every single day, he had a question, a joke, a story or some trivia.”

She noted Day’s “first customer of the day would sometimes have to come get him from the coffee house.”

Day once told Tilden-Geiger he was sad when the coffee house was closed on Thursdays because he wasn’t able to come in.

“This man was a wealth of knowledge and just so interesting,” said Tilden-Geiger. “His love for the town of Akron and its people were unwavering.”

Meinert recalled the last time she saw Day not too long ago.

She said she hugged him and told him to “have a good day” as she left.

Meinert said his reply was one he would give when someone would wish him “a good day.”

“’I am a good Day,’” Meinert said he replied.