A class act has passed

I was surprised and saddened to hear that long-time Destin dentist Joe Carnley had passed away.

I’ve known Joe since the 1970s. He was a tennis fanatic, just like me. We bumped heads more than once in area tennis tournaments. Sometimes I won, but more often than not Joe came out on top.

Later, he would build the Destin Racquet Club on Airport Road. I used to love dropping by. Not only was it a terrific set of rubico tennis courts, he had handball courts and a gym. I still have a Destin Racquet Clubs T-shirt.

Joe was a super nice guy. Nobody was beneath him — even a young smart aleck like yours truly. Joe always treated me like an equal, and I appreciated that.

I haven’t seen him in years, but I’ve often thought of him. I wanted to apologize to him for a rude comment I made in a tennis tournament. I waited too long.

We had a tight tennis community going there for awhile, and Joe was a huge part of it. We will miss him.

Del Stone is Web editor for the Northwest Florida Daily News.