Joseph Jay Parker Titus

May 6, 1925 – August 26, 2016

Pacific Grove, California

Loving husband, caring father to all his children, and dear friend, Joseph (Jay) Parker Titus was a generous and adventurous man of great integrity and spirit. He told fascinating stories from his personal experiences in life, loved to laugh, and was deeply devoted to his wife and family.

Born in Colonia Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, and raised in Moab, Utah, and Heber, Arizona, Jay was the only child of Joseph Parker Titus and Millie Ellen Jarvis Titus. He served in the Navy in the South Pacific during World War II, built a career as a civil engineer, climbed mountains in the United States and Europe, and was a lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

On May 5, 1943, the day before he turned 18, he joined the U.S. Navy. He served on the USS Foreman as a “sound man” operating anti-submarine equipment, participated in seven invasions in the South Pacific, and was honorably discharged on May 4, 1946.

He attended the University of Arizona at Tucson after the war, graduating with a Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering. He also earned a Master of Public Administration at Fullerton College later in his career. For many years, up until he retired in 1987, he worked as a civil engineer and advisor to the planning and zoning committee of the City of Anaheim. Prior to that, he worked as a civil engineer for the state of California on road design and construction.

Jay loved the mountains and took his children hiking and backpacking from a young age. He later joined the Sierra Club and became a mountaineering instructor. Jay’s CB radio handle was Peak Bagger, and he became the 51st member of the Highpointers Club to reach the summit of the highest peak in each of the 50 states when he climbed Wheeler Peak, New Mexico, on September 28, 1996.

Jay met his wife, Rita Kramer Stewart, when she began taking his mountaineering class in January 1976. They were married on April 8, 1978. They backpacked the Sierras together, and Rita joined Jay in reaching 30 state highpoints. They moved to Pacific Grove, California, in 1987 after they retired, to enjoy the ocean and the natural beauty of the coast, and also lived for a time in Oakhurst, California, to be close to the mountains they loved. Jay was an accomplished photographer and gardener, and he became skilled in woodworking after retirement. He never stopped learning and growing throughout his life.

Jay is remembered with great love by his wife Rita; all their children: Thomas (Joanne) Stewart, Megan Black, John (Jeannie Marie) Stewart, Pamela (George) Chant, Amy Stewart (Miles Handley), Larry (Nancy) Titus, James (Amy) Stewart, Jerry (Suzanna) Titus, Jo-Marie (Jay) Rowe, and Stephanie (Bradley) Mallory; 33 grandchildren; 35 great grandchildren; and 3 great great grandchildren.

There will be a visitation on Friday, September 2, 2016, from 4 pm to 7 pm at The Paul Mortuary, 390 Lighthouse Avenue, Pacific Grove. A celebration of Jay’s life will be held on Saturday, September 3, at 10 am at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 1 Forest Knoll Road, Monterey, with a viewing from 9 am to 10 am.

Arrangements under the direction of The Paul Mortuary, Pacific Grove, CA.