Joachim Wedekind zur Horst passed away at the age of 96 from natural causes on December 2, 2018 at his home in Covington. He was born October 2, 1922 in Berlin Germany to Gisela (née Finkenstaedt) and Ernst Wedekind zur Horst who preceded him in death. He was also predeceased by his wife and soul mate Alice Westphal Jacobsen Spicer Wedekind and his step-son Thomas Michael Spicer. Joachim and Alice had a wonderful life together. They loved entertaining, dancing, reading, tennis, swimming, and sea cruises. Joachim is survived by his step-children Alice Spicer, Bettina Spicer Owens, Diana Spicer Schneider, Doris Spicer Agin, Henry C. Spicer III, Susan Spicer, and their children (Randall, Douglas, Jessica, Jonas, Kirsten, Jake, Erik, Veronica, Evelyn, and Kelly) and grandchildren (Max, Ella, Audrey, Lila, Ava, Lilly, Finn, Viggo, and Nola). Joachim lived in Germany, Denmark, and Argentina before becoming a resident of Metairie in 1957 until May 2018 when he moved to Covington. Because of his love of the sea, Joachim trained to be a Merchant Mariner at the German Seamen's Academy in Hamburg-Finkenwarder at the age of 16. His first voyage was on board the “Schulschiff Deutschland" a three-mast, fully-rigged square rigger without an engine. He sailed on approximately 16 different supply and hospital ships under the German Merchant Marine and German Navy until 1945. Many of these ships were either bombed or torpedoed and did not survive WW2. The most devastating was the “SS Steuben” hospital ship where Joachim was one of only 650 that survived the sinking with 5,200 souls on board. Joachim was the fire chief at the refugee camp Ry in Denmark and held various jobs in Argentina until he finally found his way back to working on ships. He sailed Argentine tankers to the Port of New Orleans where he fell in love with the city. Joachim became a marine surveyor when he moved to the United States and then a vice president for a subsidiary of Lloyds of London and was an agent for the island nation of Barbuda and Antigua. He spoke multiple languages fluently. Joachim was most proud of the 30 years he spent in the all-volunteer U. S. Coast Guard Auxiliary where he helped to develop training and certification requirements in the New Orleans area for Auxiliary aircraft commanders; used his Cessna 206 and later 210 to participate in the Auxiliary Aviation program; provided transportation flights for District officers and enlisted personnel; and participated in search and rescue missions, pollution response flights, and hurricane damage assessments. Once he stopped flying, Joachim stood watch as a Coast Guard Vessel Traffic Operator directing ship movement in the New Orleans harbor. He also served with the Marine Safety Office New Orleans Safety Inspection Team to conduct inspections of foreign-flagged passenger vessels and assisted the Coast Guard in Italy with the Initial Control Exam of the cruise ship Carnival Conquest.
Family and friends are invited to a celebration of his life on Sunday, January 13, 2019 at Mondo Restaurant 900 Harrison Avenue from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Jefferson Parish or Louisiana SPCA. To view and sign the guest book, visit www.lakelawnmetairie.com.
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