February 21, 1950 to March 6, 2020
W7EJS
Ernest Joseph Sabo, Jr
Ernest Joseph Sabo, Jr was born on February 21, 1950 to Ernest J. Sabo, Sr and Donna Mitchell Sabo at Maynard Hospital in Seattle. His brother David was born 6 years later. His father was with the US Army Corp of Engineers, so as a young child they lived in Bridgeport, WA while his dad worked on the construction of the Chief Joseph Dam. Joe’s parents bought a house in 1953 in Wallingford where Joe grew up and went to McDonald Elementary, Hamilton Jr High and Lincoln High School (class of 1968). His father Ernie was active with the Seafair hydroplane races for over 50 years on the Course and Survey committee. Joe enjoyed being there on race day and during his years at the radio station he also participated in the broadcasting there. It was an event the family looked forward to and to this day Joe’s son Dan still volunteers with Course and Survey in honor of his grandfather Ernie.
Joe developed an early interest in electronics and radio. He would often go to St Vincent de Paul to look for old radios, which was the start of a lifetime of collecting. He later developed an interest in broadcast radio, eventually leading to his work at KOL Radio from 1966 until 1973. He then went to KJR Radio before moving on to other jobs as a radio technician, including jobs that took him to Panama and Saudi Arabia, Northern Radio, Day Wireless, eventually getting his “dream job” in the radio shop at Boeing. Joe also had an interest in amateur (ham) radio, starting out as WN7VSD, N7ABA, to KB7NU and finally W7EJS. MariLyn’s dad (Alfred Vaughn W7GIN) was also a ham and helped him learn Morse code for his license. His love for electronics spanned from broadcasting radio to computers; where he was a beta tester with Microsoft and a computer consultant in the local area. Joe spent his Sunday’s setting up and running the audio equipment at Fairview Church of God for years. This included running the sound for the Fairview Christian School programs.
Joe Sabo-1968
Joe met MariLyn Vaughn at KOL Radio and they married on July 18, 1970 in Seattle. They bought their home in Bothell in 1977. They were blessed with 5 children: MariJo (Chong) Yim, Dan Sabo, Rachel (Brad) Ross, Steve Sabo, and Jessie Sabo. Through the years they have had additional blessings with 9 grandchildren: Grace, Jacob and Levi Yim, Hannah Ross, Alex, Sarah & Isaac Sabo and Henry and Lila Ross. Joe loved his family and being a grandpa.
Joe is survived by his wife, MariLyn, the children and grandchildren named above, his brother David (Lisa) Sabo, Aunt Goldie Robitaille (New York), cousins Frank (Becky) Woods and Donna Smedman in New York, cousin David (Merrillann) Hutchinson (Redmond, WA), cousin Sheridan Berthiaume (Texas), and several second and third generation cousins.
A memorial service for Joe is planned to follow once the virus crisis has passed. Remembrances are suggested to: Fairview Church of God, Seattle, WA; St. Jude Children’s Hospital; or The Shriners Hospitals for Children.