Joseph A. De Jesus

Jose Angel De Jesus, also known as Joseph or Joe, was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico on July 31, 1932 to parents Baldamero and Mercedes De Jesus. He and his parents and 2 sisters, Lillian and Lydia lived in Puerto Rico until Joe was 10 years old. His father wanted to find more opportunity for his family and so he moved them all to New York City. They lived in the borough of the Bronx. Joe had so many stories of his time there as you all can imagine living in New York City. When Joe was 18 he joined the United States Air Force. He was stationed at McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita, Ks where he served 4 years. Joe was very proud of his time in the service. Over the years he had acquired many different pieces of memorabilia relating to his time in the Air Force. While Joe was stationed in Wichita, he met a girl, Selma Louise Louis. But know to everyone as Louise. He was head in heels in love with her and they were married on May 24th, 1954. After serving 4 years in the Air Force, Joe went to work for Louise’s father at Roy Louis and Sons Construction Company as a carpenter. Roy Louis taught Joe the craft of building homes. They loved to travel and flew to New York City many times. They also spent so much time at the Louis’s cabin and at different lakes boating and enjoying the outdoors. Joe had also gone back to his childhood home of Puerto Rico several times. He would tell of his stories about his cousins and the silly things they did growing up there and how much fun they all had. Joe and Louise had 2 sons, Rick and Mike and he loved them so much as any father would. After working for several years at Roy Louis and sons, Joe decided he wanted to own his own business. He went to school in Kansas City to become a hairdresser. Joe opened up his own place in Wichita called Joseph’s Hair Salon. He enjoyed doing this for several years but Joe was always eager to learn something new. So again, he went back to school. This time he became a stock broker. He was so proud of his accomplishment at becoming one. Joe was always on the go, trying to learn something new. Just recently he told his son that he wanted to learn how to make lamps. One of his favorite past times after retiring was to just get in his car and drive. He loved the outdoors and the open country roads. He never tired of just driving around seeing all the sites. In the last 10 years Joe had found a new friend and companion, Terry Larson. Looking at all the pictures of the two of them taking trips to Branson and seeing all the fun they were having is so heartwarming. Like the saying goes, “Young at Heart”. Jose Angel De Jesus or just Joe to most, passed away peacefully at home, Wednesday, October 21st, 2020. He was 88 years of age. He lived doing the things he loved with lots of family and friends. He loved to visit with just about everyone he met. He was a talker. Joe, unfortunately, was plagued by serious health issues. And in the end, he chose Quality of Life and knew it was time to go be with his family in Heaven before him. He was a Christian and loved God so much. He had said that he had lived “a good life”. He loved Frank Sinatra’s music and we can probably all hear him saying, “I did it my way”! Joe is preceded in death by his mother and father, Mercedes and Baldamero; wife, Louise; sister, Lillian Gonzales; and son, Mike De Jesus. He leaves behind, son Rick De Jesus and wife Denise; sister, Lydia Kakavas; 3 grandchildren, Christopher De Jesus, Renee Novak and Nash De Jesus. He also leaves 3 great-grandchildren, and 2 nieces, Teresa and Debbie. He also leaves a very special friend, Terry Larson