Joe V. Cordova

Visitation will be from 5-7pm on Thursday, June 14, 2018 with services at 10:00am on Friday June 15, 2018, both at Olinger Crown Hill (W. 29th Ave. and Wadsworth). He will be laid to rest with his wife at Fort Logan National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be mailed to his family, Ellie Cordova-Blana, 19140 County Road 31.9, Weston, CO 81091.

The Biography of Joe Vincent Cordova

(Sept 2, 1922 - May 22, 2018)

Joe Vincent Cordova, also lovingly known as Joe V and Vicente Cordova, was born as José Vicente Córdova on September 2, 1922, in a little village called Los Sauces, Colorado (in the San Luis Valley, west of the Sangre De Cristo Mountains). Joe was the oldest of four surviving children of thirteen Rose Romero, Virginia Medina, and Pete Cordova, who proceeded him I death. Joe is also proceeded in death by his parents Lee & Estrella Cordova, his beloved wife Beulah, and his grandson Ray Cordova.

Joe is survived by his daughter Elloween (Ellie) Cordova-Blana (Dan), grand-daughter Lori (Gil) Chavez, great-granddaughters Roxie Biewenga (Ben) and Faith Chavez, and his great-great-grandchildren Malachi & Eisley Biewenga and Callisto Haynes.

Joe was named after his grandfather whose family had co-pioneered the Wes-ton, Colorado area from the Taos, NM area, from several generations leading back to Spain. His grandfather helped build the little church there in "Cordova Plaza", just out-side of Weston. Joe's grandfather was a prominent citizen in Weston.

Before Joe was born, his family moved from Weston, Colorado, east of the Sangres, to across the mountains (before there were good roads there). His father, who had helped build the Stonewall Monument Lake Reservoir near Weston, sometime after he moved to Los Sauces, took a job breaking horses at the ranch of Colorado Governor William H. "Billy" Adams, who governed from 1927 to 1933.

Joe, from time to time when growing up at the request of his father, used to jump on their white horse to ride bareback several miles to Antonito, CO to buy supplies.

Sometime after the depression, they moved from Los Sauces up to Denver on Mariposa Street. Joe went to school for a while on 6th Avenue but then to help the family, he and his father got a job at Bagnel's Pool Hall in downtown Denver. Joe also sold newspapers on the side.

Joe was called to duty for defense of our Country prior to WW2. He was at Bremerton, Washington working on the railroad for the shipyards for a while before the war. There he got the call to enter the Army Corps of Engineers due to his jack-hammer operator and other experience. He went home to Denver to depart for the Army.

In WW2, 1943-1945, Joe served under Major General Robert C. Macon who was like the "Patton" of the 83rd Infantry Division, noted for his ability to push the limits of advancing. Joe served in five European Military Campaigns, most notably D-Day Omaha Beach and The Battle of the Bulge. In recounting his war experiences, Joe would cry and was known to say, "In the war, there were so many of my fellow soldiers shot all around me and sometimes I was the only one left standing." As his father, mother and family were always praying, the Lord certainly did protect Joe in that war to come home and marry his wife, Beulah, and have his daughter, Ellie. He got to see Ellie happily married.

After the war, Joe later got a job at Gates Rubber Company close by. His father worked at the Government Federal Center in Denver. Meanwhile, Joe and his father were then able to buy the property at Florida near Federal, where Joe and his wife and daughter lived in the original house from around 1946 to 2013. Joe, his father, mother and their family lived on the property in army tents while they were building the house. They bought building materials as they went along.

HIS MILITARY RECORD

Honorable Discharge - Dec 6, 1945.

Rank: Private First Class.

308 Engr. Br. Pfc.

Date of induction, May 14, 1943 - Entered active service, May 21, 1943.

Received notice at Bremerton, Washington - Trackman for U.S. Navy - Railroad.

MEDALS - (all were stolen from his house.)

European African Middle Eastern Service Medal

World War II Victory Medal

Good Conduct Medal

European Theatre - 5 campaigns (Normandy, Northern France, Ardemnes, Rhineland, Central Europe)

Two years, six months, and twenty-three days in Service.

MILITARY OCCUPATIONAL ASSIGNMENTS

3 Months Engineer Basic Training

15 Months Jackhammer Operator

11 Months Construction Worker

Separation Center - Ft Logan, Colorado.

1945 out of service.

After the military, Joe got work at Gates Rubber Company. He started in the stockroom and ended up a forklift operator before he retired.

He worked for Gates for 34 years. He only missed two days of work out of 34 years: one day for his father's funeral and the other day he was so sick with the flu that he couldn't get out of bed.

Joe and his wife, Beulah, met at Gates Rubber Company. She was selling a radio and he

was buying one. They got married on October 17, 1948.

Joe and Beulah's daughter, Elloween (Ellie), was born January 5, 1950.

After the war, Joe and his Father, Eliseo, bought property at 2656 West Florida Avenue and started building their house.

They moved into the basement of the house they were building. (They shared the house that Joe and his father built while staying in army tents on the property). Joe's father, mother and Annaliese lived upstairs (also probably Joe's brother Pete).

Joe and his father decided the house was too small for two families to live in, so they decided that Joe would buy out his father's portion. This was because Joe was in a better financial position. Joe's parents bought a house on Perry St. in Denver and moved in there. Joe, his wife and Elloween owned the house until 2013. (Beulah passed away in 1996). Elloween and Joe sold the house and Joe moved in with Elloween and her husband Dan.

Joe loved to play pool almost every day and with anybody. He was very good at it. He won several trophies in his lifetime. One was for 2nd place champ of Colorado. He learned pool while working along with his father, at the pool hall mentioned above. He also learned a lot from Virgil Abernathy who, back then, took the championship from then champ, Mr. Mesconi. Joe played against Denver Channel 4 TV anchorman Johnny Rayburn on local TV in a tournament. The tournament was filmed by Channel 4.

He loved his grandchildren and great grandchildren so much. He loved seeing them and doing things with them.

He also loved to eat ice cream. He used to say, "I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream". He loved chocolate ice cream but later, while living alone, he used to have vanilla ice cream for breakfast every day. He also loved Frosties and chili at Wendy's fast food.

He was a good man and a great father who loved the Lord with all his heart. He was always singing love songs to the Lord and praying out loud.

He lived with his daughter, Ellie, & her husband, Dan, for over six years and had a good life with them taking care of him in Weston, Colorado where his father, Eliseo, grandfather and his great grandfather were all born. He loved living in the mountains and going to town. It was a great honor for them to be able to care for Daddy the remainder of his life. God was good to them!

He is greatly missed, and we celebrate his life.