Joel Droba, COL (RET) passed away on May 6, 2024, after battling metastatic colon cancer for several years. Joel was born in Detroit, MI on May 29, 1966, and grew up in Bemidji, MN. He attended Bemidji High-School and graduated from Bemidji State University with a B.A. in Classical Music (percussion), with a minor in Military Science. He was commissioned in ROTC as a 2nd LT in the MN Army National Guard as an Armor Officer (combat operations.) He retired as a Colonel in the US Army Reserve after a highly decorated 33-year career specializing in psychological warfare and operations. He is preceded in death by his mother and father, Mary Ann (Briggs) and Leonard “Bud” Steele, and is survived by his wife, Martha Lundell, daughter, Christina Lundell, and two siblings, Gregory Droba and Aletia Droba, brother-in-law, Mohammed Odeibat, and nephew, Shareif Odeibat.
Private family service at Fort Snelling National Cemetery, followed by a celebration of Joel’s life which will be scheduled and shared at a later date.