Joe was born in 1931 to Archie & Agnes Mailloux, & was the "middle" brother to Yvonne & Cecelia. He attended St. Paul’s Cathedral School & graduated from Marquette High School in 1950. In 1952 dad enlisted in the U.S. Navy & was stationed in Japan & San Diego.
During this time he married Bonita Ruyle & they had 6 children. That marriage ended in divorce but he later met his soul mate, Dorothy "Dot" Smith & they were married in 1966. They spent 34 happy years together until she passed away suddenly in October of 2000.
In the mid 60's Dad worked as an alarm operator for the Yakima Fire Department. As kids we used to visit him at the alarm office and marvel at all of the buttons, switches & phones that he commanded! It was almost like he was the captain of the Starship Enterprise! To make ends meet he also picked apples during harvest season after his shift at the alarm office.
After the alarm office dad went to work for the Post Office as a mail sorter/handler. He made so many good friends during his years there & he loved his Post Office "family". He retired from the Post Office after 25 years.
While retirement is bittersweet for some, Dad really looked forward to spending time with "Dot". He enjoyed woodworking, joined a bowling league & he also liked to cook. His specialties' were homemade jerky, smoked fish & the best Swedish meatballs ever! Dad & Dot enjoyed doing crafts together & traveling with family to Idaho, the Southwest, the San Juan Islands, and once to Mexico.
Dad loved to fish, & back in the early 70's he often took us kids to "Lost Lake" in the family station wagon with bologna sandwiches in the picnic basket! Later on his neighbor, Ron, became his fishing buddy & they spent many peaceful hours at Dog Lake, Mud Lake & Lost Lake trying to catch "the big one"! He enjoyed gardening, especially growing tomatoes & beautiful roses. If you were female & visited his house during the blooming season you always left with a rose. He & Dot were both avid movie fans & had a vast collection of favorites. He most enjoyed westerns & anything with Clint Eastwood but he'd also let himself be dragged to the theatre to watch a "chick flick" with Dot & his daughter Kelley. He passed out the hankies so they could have a good cry! Dad loved babies & kids & relished being a "grandpa"! If a baby was crying he could usually soothe them & he thoroughly enjoyed spending time with his many grandchildren & recently the great -grandchildren. He was never too busy or too tired to welcome his family into his home.
Dad had a purely kind heart & a gentle soul. He rarely said anything bad about anyone even though they may have deserved it. He believed in giving everyone a chance & he was trusting, sometimes to a fault. He had a positive outlook on life & accepted people for who they were.
Dad spent the last 5 years living at the Peach Tree Retirement Apartments & he loved it there. He made many dear friends who cared & looked out for him. His favorite things there were "movie night" & going to exercise class because he thought the instructor was beautiful! Always the ladies’ man, he was generous with compliments for the ladies!
Dad is survived by his children: Joseph Mailloux (Brenda) of Maple Valley, Jerry Mailloux (Rick) of Des Moines, James Mailloux (Amber) of Lakewood, Kevin Mailloux of Seattle, Laurie Munns, Patty Healy, Kelley Wies (Jerry) all of Yakima, & Kevin Smith (Ranae) of Mill Creek; sisters Cecelia Pannell (Bud) of Selah & Yvonne Apple of Kennewick. He also has 13 grandchildren & 14 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his father Archie, mother Agnes, stepmother
Helen & wife Dorothy.
The family would like to give a special thanks to the nursing staff at Memorial Hospital for their caring & compassion; & an extra special thanks to the wonderful staff, care givers & dad's friends at the Peach Tree Retirement apartments.
We will miss you very much dad, but we take comfort in knowing that there's a very special place in heaven set aside for very special people like you.
Funeral Services will be 10:00 a.m. Friday, November 15, 2013 at Langevin-Mussetter Funeral Home with burial to follow at West Hills Memorial Park. Visitation will be held an hour before the service at the Funeral Home. To share a memory of “Joe” please visit, www.lmfuneralhome.com
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