Joe I Rivera, Jr

Joe I. Rivera, Jr., 94, formerly of Albuquerque NM, died peacefully on May 27, 2024, as a result of cancer. He was surrounded by family in Fullerton California where he was in hospice for a short time at the home of his loving daughter Julie. He was a beloved son, brother, father, grandfather and uncle who led a long life in Christ, devoted to his family and the church. He is survived by his children Paul (Diane), Julie, Matthew (Andrea) and Patrick (Clarice); three grandchildren, Jon, Christopher and Isabel; and many nieces and nephews. Hewas preceded in death by his beloved wife Katherine, his parents, sister Bertha (Dan), brother Luther (Patricia), and grandson Mitchell. He was a successful, generous and supportive father and respected head of the family. Services will be held on Friday, July 26th at 10:00 am at St. Jude Thaddeus Catholic Church, 5712 Paradise Blvd NW, Albuquerque, NM 87114.

Joe was born July 21st, 1929, outside of Des Moines, New Mexico, on the Waverly ranch in the far Northeastern corner of the state. The son of a ranch hand, he was no stranger to hard work and long days working on a cattle ranch from a young age. Known to his immediate family and siblings as “Buddy,” a moniker given to him by his sister. The name stuck and he would forever be known to his family as Buddy or simply “Bud.” He grew up with his sister Bertha (known as “Sis”) and brother Luther, went to school locally and graduated with a very small class from Des Moines High School. He was always looking to improve himself and yearned for a life outside of the ranch. This led him to New Mexico State University, where he was the first in his family to graduate from college. It was then, while driving the car for members of the basketball team, that he met his beloved wife Katherine, who was tending to him as a nurse’s aide in the hospital following an auto accident (he literally drove into a house). They were married on July 11, 1953. His college years had included ROTC, and a commitment to service in the U.S. Air Force where he was eventually a first lieutenant. They travelled extensively during his three-year stint, experiencing winters as far north as Maine, and his duties included time in the South Pacific during the Cold War that he rarely spoke of. When he did, he was proud of his time with the Air Force and a government contractor he worked for during those years, and spoke in particular of important high-altitude testing of radio waves during early nuclear bomb testing. He also worked briefly at Sandia Labs during the early days of computers, and could tell you about having to put cards in to run programs on room-sized computers. It was his life-long dream to become an aviator, but that was not to be. He would contributeto aviation and our country in different ways, primarily during his career with Grumman Aircraft Systems.

Joe would join Grumman in the late 1960s and work for more than 30 years before retiring from the company. They settled briefly in Las Cruces, and Long Island, NY, before moving to Thousand Oaks, CA in 1970 where they would live and become part of the community for more than 30 years. Joe worked out ofGrumman’s offices at Pt. Mugu Naval Air Station on the Southern California coast near Camarillo. He was the most proud of his work on the F-14 Tomcat aircraft program (yes, the one in Top Gun), and after many years, he ended up in Human Resources, recruiting college kids to come work for the company. He made the daily commute for all of those years in California, and it became like clockwork in the Rivera household to find Joe coming home at 4:45 pm each day (and eating dinner by 5:00 pm). He would carpool (before it was a thing) with other Grumman employees to save money and gas,and we now wonder what (or if) they would talk about in the car for hours as Joe was not always the most social person(Katherine was). They welcomed four children during the early years, Paul Joseph, Julie Ann, Matthew Alexander and Patrick Lee. Each one baptized and raised in the Catholic faith. He was a hard-working and at times, stern father, but always working on the house at 2630 Calle Limonero, or the automobiles and taking care of his family. He found a love of soccer and was a community coach for many years. He also had a life-long love of automobiles and camping, and took the family on many adventures from tents and backpacks to a tent trailer, andeventually various sizes of motorhomes. There were many trips to National Parks and spots across the Western part of the U.S. The family trekked to New Mexico virtually every summer, starting during the early 1970’s in a station wagon, and typically driving through the night with Joe at the wheel the entire time. He was active in St. Paschal’s Catholic parish where they would meet many of their lifelong friends. Family and friends would know Joe’s lighter side when the blender would come out and the margaritas would start to flow. And anyone coming by the house or staying on a Sunday would always be treated to his made-from-scratch pancakes – a tradition that continued long into his retirement. Joe and Katherine also took an active role in helping to care for and raise their grandsons, Jon and Mitchell, often hosting them for the summer. They were grief-stricken at the loss of their beloved grandson Mitchell.

After the children had left home and Joe retired from Grumman Aircraft Corporation, Joe and Katherine moved back to Albuquerque, NM in 2001 to be closer to their families. They joined St. Joseph on the Rio Grande Catholic Church immediately and they became involved in their new church making friends, donating their time, including Joe serving on the parish council. Their home in Albuquerque was host to many friends and family over the years who loved to stay for a visit, and it was a favorite stop on the way to other places. Joe would always be ready with a margarita and pancakes and he enjoyed taking care of his little dog Josie and eventually Bella. It was during this time that he got back to playing golf, with the Ladera community golf course being just minutes away. He was pleased to eventually get his senior card that offered free golf. They had many fond years in Albuquerque, near their brothers and sisters, while taking trips to visit their children and taking care of the house. They were there to help and celebrate with many relatives, church friends and hosted many friends during this time. In 2019 it was discovered Joe had cancer in a salivary gland in his jaw, and he started radiation treatments. It was during this time that Katherine’s Alzheimer‘s became increasingly difficult to manage, and he turned to family for help. It was a difficult time for both of them, and with losing her in 2022 and the return of his cancer, it meant a move to live with his daughter and grandson in Fullerton California. The house in Albuquerque where they spent so many happy years was sold and he was lovingly cared for by his daughter Julie until his passing. He was healthy during his early time in California as the cancer was in remission, however it came back aggressively in early 2024, and in early May he began a rapid decline in health. He peacefully joined his wife Katherine on May 27th.