Who was Joe the Plumber? Cause of death explored as viral 2008 election star dies aged 49 

On Sunday, August 27, 2023, it was reported that Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, popularly known as Joe the Plumber, passed away at the age of 49. He was reportedly battling stage 3 pancreatic cancer at the time of his death and eventually succumbed to that.

For the uninitiated, Joe shot to fame in the political scenario in 2008 when he questioned the then Presidential candidate Barack Obama about his new tax policies.

As per FOX 8, the news about his demise was shared on an online fundraising page, GiveSendGo, run by his family. The post read as follows:

"Joe passed away earlier this morning and entered our Lord’s heavenly home. Joe had been too sick/in too much pain to get out of bed lately, and his goal was to get Katie and their kids moved to her hometown surrounded by family."

The description further revealed that the family had completed the move just a week before his demise. Joe's wife, Katie, said that she will never forget the smile he gave her and it brought him peace knowing that all of his family were together.

As per the New York Times, Joe is survived by his wife and four kids, the oldest of whom is from his first marriage.

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How Joe the Plumber shot to fame: About his brief political career, cancer diagnosis, and more

Born on December 3, 1973, Joe was trained in plumbing during his time with the Air Force, after which he went on to work at a telecommunications agency. The New York Times reported that during his brief period of fame thanks to the conversation with Obama, he published a book, titled Joe the Plumber: Fighting for the American Dream.

As per NPR, in 2008, during a campaign stop, Joe questioned Barack Obama about whether his tax policy is going to harm or benefit small business owners like him. The 5-minute conversation was cited several times by Senator John McCain - who was the Republican candidate opposite Obama at the time - during a presidential debate.

As a result of this, Joe the Plumber shot to fame, even partaking in campaign rallies with McCain and Governor Sarah Palin, the former's running mate.

Joe stood for the Ohio elections in 2012 against Democratic candidate Marcy Kaptur, but lost out to Kaptur by a wide margin, winning only 23% of the votes.

In 2016, he openly came forward and said that he voted for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who won the election that year. In an interview with Reuters at the time, Joe the Plumber said that Trump is a winner and can bring "that kind of success" to the White House:

"He’s a winner. He’s made billions. He’s dated beautiful women. His wife is a model. That’s not to sniff at. And a lot of people believe he can bring that kind of success to the White House."

As per NPR, Joe returned to his plumbing business after giving up his political career.

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Joe the Plumber opened up about his cancer diagnosis in a recent interview

About a month ago, during an interview, Joe spoke about his journey with pancreatic cancer, saying how it has changed changed his perspective on life.

He further added:

"People are going through things every day, and you don’t know what’s going on in their lives. Having a kind word … and saying you’ll pray for them, it makes a difference."

He even talked about the crowdfunding campaign that had been started following his diagnosis, saying that he was shocked to know how much people contributed:

"I just honestly started crying. There’s a lot of great people out there … they’re wanting to do good and, when they find they’re able to, most people will. It’s astounding and just gives you more faith in people. My wife and I sat and cried for a while and thanked God."

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Funeral arrangements for Joe the Plumber are yet to be announced.