Joe, his brother Richie, his sister Nancy and their mom Blanche took many family trips when he was a teenager and young adult.  One of their favorite places to visit was Yosemite. 

My Uncle Joe always put family first.  He was a loving uncle, brother, son, husband, and father.  As I was looking through old photos, time after time I came across Joe and his family.  As an adult, Joe always put his family first and foremost in his life.  They were his everything, the drive behind every decision he made. 

Recently Joe told me the story of how at a young age, he became the recipient of a small tatoo on his arm.  I did not know he was such a hip trend setter and led the way for those that have followed! We laughed together as he shared this story-both of us opening up about fun/memorable events throughout our lives.Being around Joe was like being with a friend you'd known for a lifetime. His warm, caring and compassionate ways still fill my heart with warmth and have a daily and lasting impact on us all. Wishing Love and Light to Nancy, Ryan and Kyle and the family.

We were honored to share Nancy and Joe’s trip to Hawaii to celebrate Nancy’s retirement, their birthdays, and anniversary. We had a wonderful trip exploring Kauai! Hanalei Bay was one of our stops.

Joe loved an adventure. One of our adventures led us to Cabo. Our day at the beach included swimming, drinks (imagine that!), tacos, bartering with the vendors, and a tattoo! Yes, Joe got a tattoo while enjoying his beach time. He wasn’t going to let Jeff Dunning out do him! So after much thought he decided on Bart Simpson!

Joe would do anything for anyone. He was a great friend, a fun neighbor, and a devoted family man. I was lucky enough to marry into the August family and witness their selflessness on the daily. One time I was home alone with baby Khloe and saw a HUGE lizard running down the hallway of our house. Joe was always the one to call during the day because he didn't leave for work until 2pm. Whenever I had an issue and Ryan was at work, he would just say, "call my dad." So, I called Joe to SAVE MY LIFE from the dreaded lizard! He rushed over to help me escort the (now embarrassingly small) 6-inch long lizard out of the house. We laughed and laughed at my over-reaction. Joe was always there to save the day....he even did a huge Costco run every other week (for YEARS) and would pick up whatever we needed. Every stay-at-home/part-time working mom needs a Joe. Everyone needs a Joe. I hope, at some point in your life, you are lucky enough to have one.

And, now I'm crying.

Joe loved the mountains. He loved Grass Valley. He had to commute to West Sacramento for work every day, a long hour in each direction. But, he said it was all worth it. He said on his way home, right when he got past Auburn on 80, he would roll down his windows, smell those pine tress and could feel the stress leaving his body. He worked so hard to move up here from the bustling bay area. He found a gem of a piece of property by crawling through manzanita trees and climbing a pine tree to see a view that no one else knew existed (from that property). His love for the foothills allowed me to see this area through different eyes and appreciate it in a whole new way. Ryan and I chose to buy a house just down the street from Joe and Nancy and have created a life we love all because of his original vision. To be in the country and able to ride dirt bikes, shoot guns, hike, swim in ponds, and have a view of the snow-capped mountains...all from your own property. He and Nancy developed a true stay-cation...a place that family and friends love to visit to this day.

Joe loved ice cream, in any form. But then so did Ryan and Kyle. It eventually became a game of hide and seek. Joe would hide and the boys would hunt for his stash. It wasn't easy hiding a food item that had to be frozen, but he tried and many times succeeded. We were planning a trip to Las Vegas. The kids would come over and use the pool and hot tub even when we were gone. So a top priority was how to keep the recently acquired ice cream bars in tact until we returned. As he was rummaging through the freezer, an idea began to form. There was a bag of frozen vegetables that had been purchased at Costco that weren't all that good, no one liked them. Why not replace the vegetables with the bars and place the bag back in the freezer? No one would ever think to look, the veggies were nasty! Well, Ryan and Sab were over and decided to cook dinner. And there were no fresh veggies to be had. Being desperate she pulled out the bag of nasty vegetables. Much to her surprise, they were still left with no veggies for dinner, but they had dessert. We took a call in one of the resorts and at the other end was hysterical laughter!