Joseph Nelson Albrecht, 81, passed from this life on September 22, 2017, in his home in Bartlett, TN. He was born in Baltimore, Maryland, May 28, 1936, to the late James Robert Albrecht and Dorothy Angel Armiger. He attended St. Ursula''s in Baltimore, Maryland, Westminster High School in Westminster, Maryland, and graduated from Elmer A. Wolfe High School in Union Bridge, Maryland.

Joseph enlisted in the United States Army in 1953, serving in Korea as a Radio Operator and Cryptographer; at Ft. Huachuca, Arizona, as an Electronics Team Chief; at Ft. Meade, Maryland, as a Carrier Platoon Sergeant; in Frankfurt, Germany, as an Armour Group Communications Center Chief; at Ft. Benning, Georgia, as Team Chief of a Radio-Teletype Communications team; and at Ft. Knox, Kentucky, as Communications Chief. He was an Honor Graduate of Officer Candidate School and entered the Army''s Bootstrap program to attend college and earn a commission. He attended University of Maryland and American University and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant. After completing Basic Airborne School at Ft. Benning, Georgia, he served as Motor Officer and then as S-2 (Military Intelligence) Officer in Butzbach, Germany. He served as Signal Officer in Kaiserslautern, Germany, where he worked closely with United Stated Army Europe projects and programs. He served in Pleiku, Republic of Viet Nam, as Officer in Command of the Long Lines Signal Detachment. While in Viet Nam, he was transferred to the Infantry and commanded a Rifle Company. Upon his return from Viet Nam, he attended the Infantry Officer Advanced Course and then was given the time to complete the degree requirements for a Bachelor Degree.

At the age of 34, and as an Army Captain, Joseph attended the University of Tampa and played on the Spartan football team. He explained to his much younger coaches, "I want to learn the game and plan on teaching after retirement from the Army." He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education and was a member of the Alpha Chi National Honor Society.

Joseph continued his service in the Army as a Signals Officer in Thailand. He served in the United States Army Special Forces "Green Berets" before serving as Operations Officer of United States Army Infantry School at Ft. Benning, Georgia. He retired from the Army in 1974 in the grade of Major. He received the Bronze Star Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal with Silver Star and Bronze Star, and numerous other awards and decorations.

Following his service to his country, Joseph worked as a high school teacher and coach, a salesman, and a business owner. He earned the Master of Science in Education from Troy State University. He enjoyed coaching youth sports, both football and baseball, and he enjoyed golf, tennis, SCUBA diving, swimming, boating, weightlifting, and writing. He was an avid ham radio operator (K3UBH). He was a long-time fan of Auburn University Tigers football and the Atlanta Braves, and a more recent convert to University of Tennessee Volunteers football.

Joseph was preceded in death by his parents; by his wife, Guler "Sally" Moray; by his brother Gerald Robert Albrecht and sister Sarah Ann High; and by his daughter, Mary Jo Albrecht. He is survived by his wife of 10 years, Janice Cutler Albrecht; brothers James Ernest Albrecht, Kenneth Arnold Albrecht, and Karl Gregory Albrecht; daughters Barbara Brown, Gayla Corbett, and Bonnie (husband Paul) Streeter; son James "Jimbo" Albrecht (wife Merrie); step-son Anthony Cutler (wife Rebecca), step-daughter Angela Cutler (husband Jim) Janeway, step-son Jeffrey Cutler (wife Michelle); grandchildren Christopher "Chris" Brown, Katelyn (husband Blake) Bivens, Kimberly (husband Ward) Culpepper, Kristi (husband Josh) McCain, Shane Corbett, Niki (husband Matthew) Middleton, Joey Streeter, Jon "J.P." Weddington (wife Sara), and James "Jimmy" Albrecht, Jr. (wife Kristen), step-grandchildren Jessica Cutler, Laura Cutler, Kathryn (husband Daniel) Doran, Adam Cutler, Philip Cutler, Chelsea Cutler, Zachary Cutler, Stacie (husband Ron) Northcutt, Bradley Jordan (wife Timber), Ashley (husband Brandon) Meeks, Joseph Cutler, and Danielle Cutler; 4 great-grandchildren, and 7 step-great-grandchildren. Joseph was a wonderful, generous, loving man, and will be sorely missed.

It was Joseph''s desire that he be cremated and to have his ashes scattered on the parade grounds of Fort Benning, Georgia. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Paragould Children''s Homes online at www.childrenshomes.org/donate or by mail to 5515 Walcott Road, Paragould, AR 72450.
A memorial service will be held at Ellendale Church of Christ, 7365 US Highway 70, Bartlett, TN, on Friday, September 29, 2017, at 2:30PM.