When Joe Handley was born on 17 December 1911, in Arkansas, United States, his father, Robert Handley, was 25 and his mother, Columbia Jane Ruff, was 19. He married Ruth Maryetta Hazen on 13 March 1933, in Thomas, Nebraska, United States. He lived in Scotts Bluff, Nebraska, United States in 1920. He died on 21 July 1964, in San Mateo, California, United States, at the age of 52, and was buried in Alta Mesa Memorial Park, Palo Alto, Santa Clara, California, United States.