Joseph Arnold Semper

Joseph Arnold Semper was born on March 30, 1934 to Alice (White) Semper and Edward Charles Semper in Montserrat, WI. He was the middle child of three. Along with elder brother William (dec’d) and younger sister Gwen, he was born in Montserrat but moved with his family to Antigua in 1942. In Antigua, Joe attended the Convent High School where, he excelled in all math subjects, setting the stage for his later academic work in engineering.

In 1954, at twenty, he moved to England to attend the Leicester College of Technology, where he studied Electrical Engineering. Upon graduation, he returned to the Caribbean, moving to Trinidad & Tobago to marry, settle and have a family.

While in Trinidad, he worked at the Trinidad & Tobago Electricity Commission. Beginning in 1960, he served a two year graduate apprentice training program. By 1965, he was responsible for transmission, distribution systems for residential and commercial customers. He held this position until 1968.

In Trinidad, he further developed four passions that lasted throughout his life: jazz; dog breeding; photography and high-end cars. His daughters have recollections of hearing his beloved jazz on his homebuilt stereo; of puppies being birthed in the shower; of Nikon cameras slung on their father’s shoulder or pointed at them.

In 1970, he moved to New York where he worked as Chief Estimator and Project Manager for Jenkins Electric. In 1975, he moved to Washington DC and obtained a Master Electrician’s license that very year. For the next three decades, Joe would work on commercial, industrial and multifamily buildings.

Joseph was not an easy man. He was not always perfectly calm or perfectly urbane but he was always perfectly Joe.

Joe leaves his two daughters, Lauren and Liesl, his granddaughter, Jordanne ; his sister Gwen (Lionel) and his sister-in-law Jackie (William (dec’d)), his nieces Shea, Gayle, Joy, Del, his nephew Kelvin and their families.

He will also be mourned by his long-time friend Elizabeth Kent-Trout and his godson, Aton.

May he find rest. May he be at peace.