Obituary: Perdue, Joseph R.
Age 95
(Age 95)
He had many virtues, patience, however, was not his strong suit.
The first evidence of this was being born two months prematurely in a construction camp on October 10, 1920 near Marble Mount, Washington.
When Joe moved to Spokane two weeks later, his mother was told, “Mary, you will never rear that boy.”
But, “they got the job done.
“
Joe’s persevering spirit grew and developed.
He entered Audubon Park Elementary School at age five, attended Havermale Junior High and graduated from North Central High School in 1938.
In 1932, Joe’s father died in a construction accident in Boulder City, Nevada, while building infrastructure authorized by the Boulder Canyon Project Act that funded Boulder Dam (later named Hoover Dam).
Joe, age 12, became man of the house that included his mother and three sisters.
First he delivered newspapers on his bicycle for the Spokane Press on a downtown route that included the red light district.
He said the madams always paid their bills the first time he came to collect and gave the best tips.
Then he washed dishes in the North Central cafeteria, despite not liking the work.
Later employment was with White Pine and Sash, Boeing Aircraft, the First National Bank, Spokane Hardware and Spokane School District 81, where he retired as a locksmith.
He needed to support his family and “got the job done.
“
Joe enlisted in the U.S.
Naval Reserve in September 1942.
Following basic training at Pasco Naval Air Station, he proudly served on the U.S.S.
Hoggatt Bay C.V.E.
75 shipping out from Astoria, Oregon until he was discharged on his birthday in 1945 in Tokyo Bay as a Petty Officer First Class.
He, along with the Builder generation, “got the job done.
“
Joe met Doris, his wife of 66 years, when they were employed at the bank and married in 1949.
They immediately began a family that grew to include their daughters: Joleen, Vickie and Laurie; eight grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren, all of whom survive him.
Joe was a member of Audubon Park Lodge #272 F. and A.M. of the Grand Lodge of Washington for nearly 66 years.
Joe died on March 1, 2016 at Hospice House North.
A Memorial Service will be held on Friday, March 11, 2016 at 10AM at Heritage Funeral Chapel.
The Rev.
Happy Watkins will officiate.
Boopa, “you got the job done”!
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations to either Hospice of Spokane, the Shriners Hospital for Children, or the Union Gospel Mission.