Joe Valdez
October 24, 1928 — October 12, 2017
Valdez, Joe
Joe Valdez, age 88, peacefully sailed on to Heaven to be with his maker forever on October 12, 2017. Joe is preceded in death by his; parents, Vincente and Altagracia Valdez and brothers, Joe V. Valdez, Copio Valdez and Raymond Valdez. He is survived by his lovely wife, Ruby Valdez; daughter, Amanda (Lee) Wright; brothers, George Valdez and Tino (Margaret) Valdez; sisters, Rosie LeMaster of Albuqueruqe, NM and Lisa Bonney of Santa Fe, NM; his many nephews and nieces. Joe was born in Alamosa, Colorado on October 24, 1928 and grew up on a farm in northern New Mexico, in the small village of Cebolla. His family moved to Albuquerque where he attended St. Mary’s High School. Joe married his lovely bride Ruby on December 10, 1962 in New London, Connecticut where he was stationed at the time in the U.S. Navy. Joe and Ruby lived a very happy married life in Albuquerque, after his retirement of 24 years from military service. Joe served in the Korean War and the Vietnam War. He was honorably discharged on November 16, 1970 as a Chief Petty Officer. His service medals and ribbons consist of The Good Conduct Medal, Occupation Service Medal, China Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Korean Service Medal (with 1 star), United Nations Service Medal, and the Korean War Service Medal. He was also a member of St. Jude Thaddeus Catholic Church for over 30 years. Every Sunday at 9:00 a.m. Joe ushered for the service and also belonged to the church choir. His hobbies were fishing, gardening and listening to music from the 30’s and 40’s. He shared his wide variety of music from cassettes with his family and friends. A Rosary will be recited on Thursday, October 19, 2017 at 9:30 a.m. at St. Jude Thaddeus Catholic Church at 5712 Paradise Blvd. NW Albuquerque, NM 87114 with a Mass to follow at 10:15 a.m. Interment will be held on October 19, 2017 at Mt. Calvary Cemetery at 1900 Edith NE Albuquerque, NM 87102 with full military honors. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to St. Jude Thaddeus Catholic Church www.stjudenm.org. Please visit our online guestbook for Joe’s obituary at www.frenchfunerals.com.
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