Joseph passed away early Wednesday morning in the I.C.U. of a hospital in Bakersfield, Calif. He is survived by his wife Claudia, son James, brother Paul, and three sisters, Theresa, Mary and Madonna.

He was born and raised in Clinton County, Iowa.

Joseph served with the Marine Corps in the South Pacific during World War II. He lived in the Los Angeles area after the war and was married there in 1947. He found work with the telephone company as a switchman and took classes in order to advance within the company. In the 1960s he worked in the accounting department as a computer programmer and systems analyst. He retired in 1982. He enjoyed his family, his church, travel, sports, meeting people and making friends. He fell in love with the Kern River Valley during the 1960s and bought a vacation cabin on Greenhorn in the early 1970s. Joseph and Claudia moved to Lake Isabella in 2004 from Ripon, Calif. In his last communication he expressed a desire to be taken home.

Services were scheduled for April 14. The viewing was held at Sierra Mortuary & Funeral Home in Lake Isabella from 10 to 11 a.m. followed by the funeral at St. Jude's Catholic Church in Wofford Heights.

Services entrusted to Sierra Mortuary & Funeral Home.