JOLIET – Scott Gregory, manager of Disc Replay in Crest Hill, would notice the CDs Joe Hart of Joliet purchased from his store and think, “Wow, this guy’s got good taste in music.”

“Then he bought a Neil Young CD,” Scott said. “From that moment on, we were the best of friends.”

That was the beginning of a friendship based on music, one that lasted until Joe Hart’s death April 29 at age 66. Becky Hart of Crest Hill, Joe’s daughter, said the shelves at her father’s home for his CD collection ran floor to ceiling and that Joe’s knowledge of artists and genres was equally as vast.

But Joe’s musical knowledge – as well as his love for and great storehouse of sports trivia – was only part of the great man he was, said Joe’s son, Graham Hart of Naperville, who learned a sterling work ethic from Joe.

“He was what you call, ‘the iconic family man,’” Graham said.

Until Joe, a warehouse and forklift operator, was forced to retire due to multiple sclerosis, he never missed work, Graham said, except for family funerals and one incident of a pulled back muscle. Even then, after a weekend of rest, Joe was back at work. He worked when he had the flu and even tried to cover up the progression of his disease, Graham added.

“He protected us all the way down to his last few days, saying ‘Oh, I’ll be fine.’ We found out later that he was talking to the doctors and nurses about how to protect his situation from his family,” Graham said. “He never showed pain; he refused to show pain.”

Becky said she was just 5 years old when her father was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, but she didn’t know it until a couple years later, when she participated in a reading marathon to raise money for multiple sclerosis.

“My mom sat me down and said, ‘This is what your dad has,’” Becky said.

For while, said Laura Hart, Joe’s wife, Joe tackled household chores while Laura was at work, until even that contribution became impossible.

“Don’t get me wrong. He wasn’t a saint,” Laura said, “but he took it on the chin and did his best. I never heard him complain.”

So Joe found other ways to provide for his family. Time with Joe meant listening to music, watching old movies or a sporting events (“We watched thousands of baseball games,” Graham said) or playing computer games.

It also meant hearing enthralling tales of Joe’s U.S. Navy days during the Vietnam War, Graham said, pouring out troubles to Joe’s sympathetic ears and absorbing his common-sense advice.

“I miss talking with him, sharing the news or something funny with him,” Laura said.

Joe loved spending weekends hanging out at Disc Replay, talking about music with Scott or sharing trivia with the customers. People still ask about him, Scott said.

“He was such a mentor to me,” Scott said. “I won’t meet anybody like him again, that’s for sure.”

• To feature someone in “An Extraordinary Life,” contact Denise M. Baran-Unland at 815-280-4122 or dunland@shawmedia.com.