Joe’s Obituary Joe L. Otero Jr. passed away February 7, 2019 in National City, CA. He was born May 28, 1931 in Belen, New Mexico to Anita & Joe L. Otero Sr He was 87 years old.
Joe L. served in the US Army from 1950 to 1952. He was honorably discharged from active duty and continued to serve in the National Guard Reserves until 1958. For the next 41 years, Joe L. worked as an Electrical Systems Specialist for the Physical Science Laboratories of New Mexico State University and was under contract with NASA.
In 1958, Joe L. was among the team of Scientist and Engineers that succesfully launched the Vanguard Rocket carrying the payload for America’s first Communication Satellite. He spent the next 20 years in Satellite-Telemetry operations in support of NASA’s unmanned space program at launch installations in Cape Canaveral, Florida; Greenbelt, Maryland; and Vandenberg AFB, California. Through out this time he participated in numerous launches at International Aerospace Coalitions sites in Denmark, Germany, Norway and the Netherlands.
From 1979 until his retirement in 93, he worked at Holloman AFB, New Mexico, with a team developing radar-jamming / drone technology along with NATO alliance partners in surface to air drills at the Missile Firing Installation in Chania on Crete, Greece. Joe L. found the love of his life in his high school sweetheart, Marguerite Liebert. She was his World!
They were married in 1951 and grew to a family of four. He enjoyed riding motorcycles and was a big fan of the Harley Davidson. He loved music, particularly orchestral march music and the Boston Pops Orchestra as well as the popular music of Johnny Cash, Charlie McCoy and Little Walter.
He enjoyed playing the guitar and harmonica. Once retired, he conducted a vocal choir and performed solo harmonica at local venues in Las Cruces. He is survived by his wife of 68 years, Marguerite; sons Anthony and James; daughter Debbie; brother Phil; sisters Antonella and Loyola; grandchildren Karissa, Amy, Lindsey, Sophia, Karoline, Kayli and Schuyler; and great-grandchildren, Jaden and Bodhi.
Daughter Mary Ann preceded Joe L. in death in 2017. Arrangements are entrusted to the care of Poway-Bernardo Mortuary. Memories from the Family: -Dad & mom were marriage on a weekend pass during his service to the U.S. Army.
A note was found among his Army documents, it was laminated in scotch tape and appeared to have been adhered to a wall, possibly somewhere in his barrack. The passage, Mom says, was what he would say to her when they kissed: “MO” One for You , One for Me Love, Me Mom) – We had a good life together, with very few fights. He was always right.
But, I always won! I Will Love You Always. Anthony) – In the beginning we moved around… A LOT !
! IT WAS AMAZING! … All the things we saw!
Being the oldest, I remember it all… I was born in New Mexico, when dad was working at White Sands Missile Range. Three years later, Mary Ann arrived… then out we headed, driving to Cocoa Beach Florida where dad worked at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Another three years passed and Debbie came along, but for some reason we had to drive back to New Mexico for her arrival, then drive back out to Florida and on up to Maryland!
! Six years later, we all pack up with a boat in tow and head West to California where James is born and dad sets up for the launch of the first MANNED ORBITING LABORATORY ! !
Best Road-trip Ever! Debbie) – I loved the times dad would pull out the o’l slide projector after dinner. There were always slides that jammed, showing us in camera shots that we didn’t like.
We’d all laugh when dad kept trying to move quickly onto the next slide, but couldn’t. …. Then that slide would come up of mom.
She had been sitting, just right, “FOREVER” for dad to snap the picture. By the time he was done fiddling with his light meter and took the shot, she was obviously “Done With It All”. This slide had a tendency to always show up sideways or upside down… hmm We would be on our heads trying to make out the image, laughing, as dad sheepishly would say: “How did that happen?
” Debbie) – Mom always wanted twins. She loved to dress Mary Ann and myself up in matching clothing. I loved it, being the little sister!
Mary Ann, not so much. Dad didn’t seem to notice, that we wore different sizes. Even though we were two and five years old at the time when mom asked him to get us ready for the beach.
The next thing she knew, Mary Ann and I were crying up a storm. I was crying because Mary Ann was crying. Mary Ann was crying because her swim suit was too tight.
And there was dad, catching it all on camera for us to see forever. He would say, of this slide photo: “The first one slipped in really easy, the other one took a little more effort” James) – Being an engineer, dad was quite reful. One day he came into my room and was looking around… I asked him what he was looking for and he said: “I’ll know it when I see it”.
Then he saw “it” and removed a shelf bracket from the wall. I followed him out to the carport and watched him use it to replace a broken muffler brace on our ’64 Falcon! Debbie) – Dad had left early that morning for a scheduled shoot… Later that afternoon, mom heard rumbling and called us all outside to watch the launch.
-We always knew before anyone else when a missile was to be launched because dad worked on the Guidance Systems, tracking the flight of missiles. - We are all looking up into the sky… The rumbling got louder! Or was it closer?
… as down the street comes Dad riding on his Harley. The launch had been cancelled and mom didn’t get the message. Dad loved the sound of that Harley!
-so did I. Phil) – I remember, as a kid, wanting to be with my brother all the time. There was just one problem… I was nine years younger. Can you imagine a sixteen year old brother hanging around with his seven year old brother?
…I DON’T THINK SO! Talk about cramping your style! Yet I still convinced him to take me with him… A LOT!
Debbie) – Dad’s explanations for certain situations were never quick enough to get by mom. He could never quite cover his tracks. Mom always caught him; in the desserts, in the Whiskey, in the Christmas presents… Although, He did get one up on her, one Christmas Day: Mom bought him a leather wallet, had wrapped it and hidden it up in the closet… Dad sneaked into it.
Replaced it with his old one and wrapped it back up. And was very proud of himself on Christmas Day! James) – Dad not only loved music, but was interested in sound reproduction — all the more … Back in the 1950s his engineering ingenuity broadened, as he built his own amp and assembled speakers for his first “hi-fi”, which then became my hi-fi at age 7!
Debbie) – Riding on back of the Harley with dad was special, hanging on to him tightly as he gunned through the gears. He loved that Bike! Mom didn’t much like that Harley.
James) – Once during his retirement years, he telephoned to tell me he had just bought mom’s birthday present — A subwoofer speaker! (To this day I wonder of mom’s reaction to such a personal gift! ) Debbie) – We all loved heading to the Drive-in theater in our station wagon.
Dad with mom in the front, the rest of us piled into the back, wearing our PJs with a very large paper grocery bag filled with freshly popped corn, salted & buttered. Dad would park us front and center, having to drive over aisles and through rows to find that window speaker that worked. We would fight among each other for the best viewing spot in the car, then pass the popcorn around which dad seem to get the longest time with.
The car would have popcorn everywhere… and I would wake up the next day, still all buttery, with popcorn in my bed. Anthony) – Out in California, dad would take us and friends to the beach with skim-boards, boggie-boards, and surf boards… Debbie) – We even had a tractor tire innertube that blew up so large, it held too many kids to count. Just getting the tube out past the white water was crazy.
As we floated waiting for the big one, we’d all start making noise as small sets of waves would roll under us. More kids would pile on and fall off as the tube tilted for the new riders. And then that Big Wave would hit!
Kids flew off screamming, in every direction! ! … and YES, Dad was one of those kids.
Debbie) – And then there were the times of riding in our station wagon, crammed with kids and food coolers, driving across the desert states so we could visit with the Grand Parents. These family trips were before the seat belt laws so we were loose and all over the car. Dad would drive with mom riding shotgun, pulling out the maps for him.
We always seem to take a wrong turn. Although, dad would be quick to say: “I wanted you guys to see this over here” -It was Always! So!
Hot! … (no air conditioner) -We were Always! Fighting!
… (once we got tired of counting cars) -And I always got car sick…. “So we drove with the widows down” James) – In the mid-’90s I wanted to re-kindle dad’s interest in pre-recorded music, so I bought him a CD player and a few CDs to get him started. He was clearly intrigued with the compact disc and during the next 10 years, we would regularly discuss the latest recordings we happened upon.
Knowing his interest in harmonica, I would seek out harmonica players. Debbie) – I would watch boxing matches on the TV with him, just to be next to him. Anthony) – Dad would hookup a trailer and take the Entire Family Camping at the beach….
Debbie) – … Family Head Count: one wife four kids one dog four ducklings in a box with the cats left at home, catching mice. Debbie) – When we all got in trouble with mom during the day, she would say: “Just wait till your Dad gets home! ” Dad would have to settle up with us when we crossed with Mom.
But we knew… Dad couldn’t catch us ALL! Especially if we ran in different direction! So We Did!
I think that is how I became so athletic! James) – I liked the conversations dad and I would have about my childhood in Lompoc. There were two stories he would always tell me: The time we were watching the trains in the switchyard and the locomotive engineer motioned us to come up to the cab, which we immediately did: I sat in the engineer’s lap while he shuffled freight cars to and fro; and the on-the-spot rides to Surf Beach (sometimes on his motorcycle) where we’d walk together along the Santa Ynez River outlet or the railroad tracks — and talk… usually about music or trains or rockets!
Anthony) – As a family, dad took care of us all, with a Good Job that lasted until Retirement! ! Debbie) – Dad would always rescue me from moms cooking.
“Mom never really had the cooking thing down” She wouldn’t let us leave the table until “Our Plates Were Clean! ” Sooo… I would sit there. And sit there.
Then pretend I was asleep… so Dad could come in, scoop me up and carry me off to bed. I loved that! Anthony) – In California, We Finally got to settle down.
Dad bought a nice Home … and Life was GOOD! ! He GOT a little Ornery towards the last few Years of his Life.
But now he doesn’t have to Fight it Anymore! ! He is in a BETTER Place— and MARY ANN will take care of him.
Love you Both —- Anthony Phil) – He was a GREAT BIG BROTHER and I love him very much. —————————– In keeping with dad’s wishes… “never wanting to go anywhere without mom”, Services will be postponed until that time comes, when mom joins him. Their ashes will then be brought together and spread into the winds of Taos, where they fell in love.
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