His work

Joseph never wanted to be known by the company he built. Ask him what he did for a living and he would tell you about a lot of things, most of all the ones that made him happy.

“What most of us do for a living is only the means of income to pay our living expenses.”Joseph, from “The Age-Old Question; Who Are You?”

Encourager

He wrote to remind people that they matter, even if they don't think so. He wrote 91 pieces of encouragement and recorded hundreds of short videos, talking straight to whoever needed to hear it that day.

Coach

He volunteered as a motivational coach for Team in Training, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's endurance program. He helped others get to the finish line while raising money for blood cancer research. He raced the Ironman triathlon series many times himself.

“Multiple Ironman triathlon finisher.”Joseph, from “What I Learned from Being Stuck and Frozen”

Champion for kids

He served on the board of the San Diego Center for Children, San Diego's oldest children's nonprofit, which has given mental health care and family support to young people since 1887. As a teenager he had lived in a home for troubled youth himself.

“A 15-year-old throw away child to a sitting Board Member of the San Diego Center for Children I affectionately call The Pacific Lodge Boys Home South.”Joseph, from “What I Learned from Being Stuck and Frozen”

And for a living

He started as a laborer at 17 and became a licensed journeyman electrician, then a general foreman. He taught himself to model buildings in 3D, and in 2009 he founded MEPCor in San Diego. The company coordinated the electrical, mechanical and plumbing systems of hospitals, stadiums, airports, schools and high-rises across the country. He called it his passion, not his job, and he always put his team first.

“I believe we are only as good as our team.”Joseph, SDVoyager interview, 2018