The night sky was just a little bit dimmer on Monday, February 23, 2026, following the passing of Joseph W. Devall, 92, whose kindness and generosity were well-known throughout Addison County.
Joe was born in Effingham, IL on May 11, 1933, the youngest of three siblings. He grew up hunting and fishing with family, working odd jobs, and playing lots of sports. Joe was a four-letter athlete at Effingham High School as a member of the football, basketball, track, and baseball varsity teams. He was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame, an achievement of which he was very proud.
Joe attended the University of Illinois on a ROTC scholarship, majoring in physical education. He and his high school sweetheart, Yvonna Luttrell, married during their senior year of college. Following graduation, Joe and Yvonna were stationed to the USAEUR Engineering School in Murnau, Germany for two years. Joe loved telling the story about when he finished basic training at Fort Belvoir and the new officers were in a large room finding out where they would be assigned. When the meeting was over, an old Master Sergeant stood up and asked who got assigned to the Engineering School. Joe raised his hand and the man pulled him aside and told him he was “one lucky SOB” because it was the best posting in Europe. There were about two dozen officers running the school, and they enjoyed happy hours every evening at the Officers’ Club and plenty of time to travel around Europe.
Upon their return to the U.S., Joe and Yvonna started a family, eventually moving to the Philadelphia area. Joe enrolled at UPenn’s Wharton School, which facilitated the start of a lengthy and successful career in the insurance industry at INA and Balis, rising from underwriter to Chief Administrative Officer. During this time, he enjoyed skiing, camping, fishing, and playing tennis with friends and family.
Following Yvonna’s death in 1987, Joe was lucky enough to find a second love in Jeannette Diette. Joe retired from Balis in 1993 and moved to Bristol, VT after accepting the role as President and CEO of Co-Op Insurance in Middlebury. Joe and Jeannette spent many happy years in Bristol, where he quickly assimilated to the Vermont lifestyle and loved being so close to the farm he had bought a few years prior. Upon Joe’s retirement from the Co-Op in 2000, he and Jeannette enjoyed traveling around the globe, from Costa Rica to New Zealand to Europe. He was also Board member at Porter Hospital and was invested in seeing Addison County thrive. Joe gave his time and money to building the skate park and ice rink in Bristol, he was active in the Federated Church, he donated food that he harvested at his farm to the food bank, and he supported many causes throughout the community.
Joe cherished breakfast with his Old Farts gang and he boasted about working out at the fitness center several days a week, even into his 90th year. In May 2023, a 90th birthday celebration was held in Joe’s honor and when a Walgreen’s employee asked why so many people in town were dressed up, a customer responded “Well, don’t you know, it’s Joe Devall’s birthday party!”.
He will be missed.
Joe is survived by his wife, Jeannette, his daughter Cindy, his son Josh, and his grandchildren Lauren, Mark, and Amy. He is also survived by Jeannette’s children, grandchildren, and great-grandchild. Joe was pre-deceased by his late wife Yvonna and his daughter Jana.
Services will be held at the Bristol Federated Church on March 23rd at 10:00 am with a reception to follow. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Make-a-Wish Vermont (https://wish.org/vtny/our-chapter) or the Bristol Federated Church (https://www.bristolfederated.com).
