REDLAND City will be able to look back fondly over the past century when it pays tribute to pioneer farmer Joseph Abeya, who died in March aged 89.
Mr Abeya, whose family was one of the first small crop farmers at Victoria Point, died at Opal Raffin Place, Calamvale, after battling prostate cancer for 16 months.
He and his family played a huge role shaping Victoria Point and Redland Bay, where he grew up as a child and stayed on until he retired, farming the rich, red soil.
Without Mr Abeya's steady hand and help, there may not have been a dedicated ambulance service for the southern part of the city or funding for Cleveland District State High School library and gardens.
He was a foundation member of the Redlands Ambulance Committee and chairman of Cleveland High's fund raising committee. He was active in Cleveland Boy Scouts, cricket and tennis.
In his later years, he was chairman of the board of the Donald Simpson Centre and belonged to the Ormiston Garden Club.
He was also a past master of the Myora Masonic Lodge, and a member of both Redlands and Bayside Daylight lodges.
Joseph Abeya was born on May 18, 1925, to Spanish parents who emigrated to Australia in 1921.
Joe and his sister, Carmen, (Snell recently deceased) and their parents initially lived in Melbourne where they owned a fish store.
They came to Victoria Point via Moorooka in 1932, when Joe was seven. His father bought 10 hectares (25 acres) of land near Eprapah Creek, where Abeya Street is today.
Abeya Street and bus stop is named after the family, which lived there until 1973.
In 1974, the family bought land on School of Arts Road and moved to Redland Bay to farm small crops. Joe lived there growing tomatoes, broccoli, avocados, cabbages and flowers until he retired in 1997.
The farm was close to the water and the young Joe enjoyed catching mud crabs and fishing, and rarely returned empty handed.
He was an avid ballroom dancer and frequented dances at Mount Cotton and other halls in the area. He was still attending dances until he got sick and was forced into care.
Mr Abeya married his first wife, Elsie, in 1954 and the couple had six children Trevor, Graeme, Margaret, Janice, Tricia (now deceased) and Joseph.
There were 10 grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.
Joe retired just before Elsie died. He married Noela Esson in 1999 and they moved to Ormiston.
The couple travelled extensively around the world. Noela died a few years after marrying Joe.
Mr Abeya's funeral service will be at St Paul's Church, on the corner of Shore and Cross streets, Cleveland, at 2pm on Thursday, April 9.