|
Joseph V. Price passed away peacefully at home on Wednesday, May 26, 2004, to join his beloved wife of 53 years, Betty Ann Price, who preceded him in death in 1998. Joseph was born and raised in El Paso, Texas and graduated from Cathedral High School before attending Pasadena City College in California. He obtained a pilot's license at the age of 18 and would fly his girlfriends in a by-wing Stearman along the Rio Grande up to Albuquerque for lunch. Joseph's love of aviation led him to become a US government air traffic controller in early 1941, where he controlled planes at Forth Worth and then Albuquerque centers. In 1943, he enlisted in the US Army Air Corps and became a navigator. While undergoing training in Louisiana and walking into town with a fellow cadet, he was picked up and given a ride by a local businessman whose car was being driven by a pretty Louisiana gal with a southern lilt. Within six weeks they were married. Bringing his bride back to the Southwest, Joseph resumed his career as an air traffic controller in Albuquerque then El Paso. In 1959, he took his family to Spain where he served as a civilian advisor to the US Air Force regarding airspace treaties in Western Europe and Northern Africa. In 1960, he went to Mexico for the United Nations International Civil Aviation Organization and was instrumental in setting up base air traffic control procedures in Mexico. Returning to the US in 1961, he helped close the El Paso en-route center in 1963 and open the then-new Albuquerque en-route center in a very isolated area north of town. In later years, he would frequently go on loan from the FAA to ICAO and was significantly instrumental in setting up and expanding international air traffic control procedures in Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and parts of South America until retiring in the early 1980s. Joseph was one semester away from obtaining his long awaited college degree when open-heart surgery left him impaired with a stroke. Despite discouraging prognostications by many in the medical field and many ups and downs, Joseph worked extremely hard to overcome his physical limitations and made surprising gains. Joseph Price was above all an honorable and decent man. He was extremely intelligent and articulate with a keen interest in a myriad of subjects which was passed on to all of his children. His family is comforted knowing that he had a positive impact on countless people in many countries throughout the years. Despite increasing fraility, Joseph suffered old age and increasing debility with grace and dignity. Towards the end, when effects of stroke left him unable to articulate in his usual way, he could still make his views and opinions known with expressive and graphic facial expressions. Joseph is survived and sorely grieved by his brother, Herbert Price and his wife, Maria Louisa of Mexico City; daughters, Elisabeth Price, Pamela Price and Philippa's mother, Susan Price, all of Albuquerque; daughter, K. Michelle Winthers, her son, Daniel Bernhardt and his wife, Ana and their daughter, Aurora; Daniel's father, Michael and other children, Jennifer, Sara and Christian Winthers, all of Sweden; son, James Price and his wife, Jill Ann and their son, Jeremy also of Albuquerque. A funeral mass will be held Wednesday, June 2, 204, at 12:00 noon, at Queen of Heaven Catholic Church, 5310 Claremont NE. French Mortuary 1111 University Blvd. NE 843-6333
|
