Mr. Joseph E. Raible Sr., joined his wife Margaret in death, on May 12, 2003 at Wingate at St. Francis in Beacon. He was 86.
He was born on March 7, 1917 in Galena, Kansas where he was raised by Joseph Ernest and Elizabeth Cronn Raible. He grew up there and as a young man attended Drury College and the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville majoring in Civil Engineering.
In January of 1941, he joined the U.S. Navy as a Naval Aviation Cadet (NAVCAD). After receiving his wings in Pensacola, Florida on December 12, 1941, he was immediately assigned to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He met his future wife there and married Army Nurse 2nd Lieutenant, Margaret Catherine Coyle of Beacon on the island of Maui on Oct. 17, 1943. By 1944, he had become the Executive Officer of the Naval Utility Squadron VX-1. He was stationed aboard USS Coral Sea during the Bikini Island Hydrogen Bomb Tests in the early 1950s at the Marshall Islands in the South Pacific. He was the first pilot to fly a decontaminated F-6B Bearcat that had been remotely flown through the mushroom cloud. During his Navy career, he had flown for more than 2000 flight hours in many types of military aircraft. In June of 1962, after 22 years of distinguished service in the U.S. Navy as Fighter Pilot, he retired as a Lieutenant Commander at the Glynnco Naval Air Station in Brunswick, Georgia. He and his family moved back to Beacon in 1962.
After moving back to Beacon and after a brief sales position with Schoonmakers Department Store, he joined IBM World Trade in East Fishkill where he worked for several years. After retirement from IBM, he was active with the Stanley ODell Democratic Club in Beacon. His free time was spent working on his garden, his 1965 Ford Mustang, taking Sunday drives in the country and vacationing up at Lake Taconic, where he fished, swam and entertained members of his family. Mr. Raible was a member of St. John the Evangelist Church in Beacon for over 40 years and was also a member of the Tompkins Hose Fire Company. He thoroughly enjoyed eating out, golf, fishing and visits from his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
He is survived by his sister, Katherine Patterson of Galena, Kansas; his daughter, Mary Cooper of Beacon; his sons, Joseph Jr. of Salem, Oregon; James Raible of Beacon; his grandchildren, Paul Cooper and Cathie Martin, both of Beacon; Matt Raible of Denver, Colorado; and Kalin Raible of Salem, Oregon; and his great-grandchildren, Alicia-Marie Platt of Beacon; Sean Martin of Beacon; and Abigail Raible of Denver, Colorado.
Visitation will be Thursday, May 15, from 4-7 p.m., at Halvey Funeral Home, 24 Willow St., Beacon.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered Friday, May 16, at 10 a.m., at St. John the Evangelist Church, 35 Willow St., Beacon.
Interment will follow in St. Joachims Cemetery, Washington Ave., Beacon.
Memorial donations on Mr. Raibles behalf may be made to Tompkins Hose Fire Company, Beacon.
Funeral arrangements under the direction of Peter T. and William J. Halvey, Halvey Funeral Home, Beacon.