Joseph David Retzer

Joseph David Retzer, 79, died peacefully at Gosnell Hospice House in Scarborough, Maine on Sunday, October 22, 2023. Joe is survived by his wife Ann Parker Retzer, his son, Matthew Retzer (m. Meara Beirne), and his grandchildren Ellis, Bertie and Nora Retzer, of Portland, Maine. Joe is also survived by his brother Donald Retzer (m. Margie Crowder) and sister Suzanne Long (m. Jim Long). He was a much loved and loving husband, father and grandfather.

Joe was raised in Arlington, VA by his parents Bertrand Mansfield Retzer and Catherine Stone Retzer. He excelled at school, and was a shy but very sweet older sibling. He enjoyed camping with his family, fishing, ball games with neighborhood kids, and playing with his chemistry set. He was a fan of the Washington Senators and later the Orioles. Sometimes he would play baseball with overripe vegetables with his Dad.

Joe began his academic career studying engineering at Vanderbilt, but soon he turned to political science. After Vanderbilt he attended Yale for graduate study on full scholarship. While there, he decided to participate in the Thirteen Colleges Curriculum Program and was assigned to teach at Voorhees College, a small black college in South Carolina, in 1968. After police in a nearby town shot several black college students who were peacefully protesting when they were refused admittance at a whites only bowling alley, he helped to rent a bus to take students to join protests at the state capitol. There he saw students at his sleepy little college grow into vigorous, civil rights advocates. After teaching for a year, Joe was drafted, trained as a military policeman, and served in Vietnam. He continued his military service at Fort Dix as a counselor at the military prison.

After leaving military service, he returned to Yale to complete his PhD. He wrote his dissertation on political radicalism in returning war veterans, which he believed set a record for number of curse-words on an abstract page, though it still passed with honors. He then moved to North Carolina to teach American politics at Davidson College, until a temporary assignment in Washington led to a career of more than thirty years working for the US Environmental Protection Agency. Arriving in Washington in 1980, Joe wrote regulations for sewage treatment plants and underground tanks, conducted studies involving environmental program issues, and managed many national programs. In 2004 he left Washington for Raleigh, NC where he worked in EPA’s national computer center.

In retirement he volunteered weekly at Urban Ministries of Wake County, assisting veterans, refugees and asylees obtain needed services and benefits. He also taught several courses through OLLI at NC State, focusing on US Presidential history and historically significant elections. Joe also loved reading books of every sort, gardening, building his stamp collection, daily walks, and his cats. He will be remembered fondly by all who knew him for his ready humor, kindness, and intellectual curiosity. He will be remembered by his grandchildren as loving, sweet and funny Grandpa Joe.

Services will be held in Portland, ME at Jones, Rich and Barnes funeral home this Wednesday, October 25 at 11:30. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Joe’s name: to Community United Church of Christ in Raleigh (https://communityucc.org), Urban Ministries of Wake County, or the Nature Conservancy.