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Growing up in Great Falls, Joe was very active in sports and excelled at football. Upon graduating from high school in 1945, he received a scholarship to play for the University of Washington. A popular student-athlete, Joe was a member of the Delta Tau Delta Fraternity, captain of the football team, and a recipient of All-Pacific Coast football team honors. In his junior year, he was awarded the Guy Flaherty Medal - the highest tribute for a Husky Football player. It is awarded annually to the player voted "most inspirational" by his teammates. In his senior year, the U.S. Army came calling, and he was drafted into the Korean War where he served the Central Intelligence Corps (CIC). Following a two-year stint for Uncle Sam, Joe married Jacqueline Lewis of Fairview, Montana in 1954. He earned a Professional (master's) degree in Petroleum Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines. During his 38-year career at Standard Oil (later Chevron), he was the engineer in charge of drilling for the state of Alaska, was on the foreign staff in San Francisco, and later negotiated international contracts for the Patent Department.
Joe is survived by his wife, three daughters (Kim, Kendall, Courtney), son-in-law (Joe), and three grandchildren (Wes, K.C., Jacqueline). He was preceded in death by his parents, his grandparents, and his beloved aunt.
The family is planning a Memorial Service in Montana later in the year.
Reach the reporter at:
Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA