Burkard, Joseph Martin; “Joe”
Joe died at his home in Monroe, WA on May 6, 2012. He was born on February 12th, 1923 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Joseph and Barbara (Heim) Burkard.
Preceded in death by his loving wife of 63 years, El Jeanne (Clemens); parents; sister, Magdeline; brother, Robert; grandson, Steven; and great-great granddaughter, Dioni. Survived by brother, Richard (Anne) of Virginia; nieces, nephews and cousins of Wisconsin; daughters, Susanne (Tom) of Wisconsin and Jennifer (Arthur) of Ohio; and sons, Joel (Cathy) of Kona, Hawaii, Thomas (Christine) of Okinawa, Japan, Darrell (Joyce) of California, and Andrew (Lisa) of California; 14 grandchildren; 5 great-grandchildren; 2 great-great-grandchildren; and loving companion, Rina Gianfermi.
Joe served as a Paratrooper in the 101st Airborne Division (The Screaming Eagles) of the US Army in WWII and saw action in Italy, Holland, Germany and France, including D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge, rising to the rank of 2nd Lieutenant. He also served with the first occupation troops in Japan immediately after the war. The first in his family to attend college, he studied at Princeton University, earned a BA from University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee and an MA from Northwestern University. He taught school, built houses including his former retirement home in Sultan, WA; rebuilt cars, repaired tractors of all sizes, and built his own airplanes. He resided with his family overseas in Japan, New Zealand and Hong Kong for 27 of his nearly 30 years as a Field Engineer and managed an office in Tokyo for Caterpillar Services, Limited. Joe worked in a total of 21 different countries, often consulting on major construction projects. He was enthusiastic about his work, and traveled extensively for business and pleasure, bringing home souvenirs, even from the Antarctica.
Joe had an active mind, an adventurous spirit, and a generous heart. He encouraged his children to learn Japanese when they moved to Japan; taught them to snow and water ski; helped found the Wellington Water Ski Club in New Zealand; taught his family to snorkel and scuba dive and after retiring, fulfilled a lifelong dream of learning to fly. An avid outdoorsman, he planted many trees wherever he lived, including a lovely Japanese garden in the backyard of his Monroe, WA home and left his mark in various venues, and even fostered Sequoia trees in Washington. He was recently honored in Snohomish by the Providence Hospice organization for his WWII military service. He made fast friends wherever he went and will be sorely missed by both friends and family.
Those who wish, may make a donation in Joe’s memory to a Hospice of their choice. Friends and family may post comments to the Barton Family Funeral Service Kirkland website at: bartonfuneral.com.