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Joseph Steven Campbell
Marathon
Joseph Steven Campbell, 82, of Marathon, died on Jan.7 at Home Hospice in Odessa, Tx. A native of New York City, he and his wife, Virginia Coleman Campbell, who survives him, moved to Marathon in 1979 when both retired from their work as engineers with Lockheed Missiles in Mountain View, Calif.
The couple, who had married in 1978, chose Marathon because of its surrounding mountains and the lack of humidity, recalled Mrs. Campbell, a native of Austin, Texas, who said her husband had suffered from severe arthritis in California.
Mr. Campbell joined the U.S.Army Air Corps after his graduation from high school in New York, serving as a gunner on B-17s flying missions from Sudbury, England, over France and Germany during World War II.
Upon his release from service, he attended Pratt Institute in New York City and received a degree from New York City College of Technology before joining General Electric, for which he worked in New York and in Idaho. He joined Lockheed in 1961 and worked there until 1976 as assistant supervisor for plant engineering.
In Marathon Mr. Campbell and his wife were active in the local ambulance service from 1982 to 1987. They were also members of the Marathon Chamber of Commerce, for which organization he rewrote the bylaws in 1990. The couple, avid hikers, were long-time members of the Big Bend Regional Sierra Club. Mr. Campbell was also interested in geneology and did extensive research into his family's history.
Mr. Campbell was preceded in death by his parents, Joseph Campbell and Mary Irish; by two wives, Arline Ramey Campbell, also formerly of Marathon and Alpine, and Wanda Morgan Campbell, of Milpitas, Calif. Three sons, two daughters, one stepson and eight grandchldren are survivors: Steven Campbell, his sons Sean, Bill and Bob, of California; Matthew Campbell, wife Phoebe, daughter Michelle of Marathon; Victoria Ann, husband Martin Pierce, daughters Miranda and Jessica of Oregon; Leslie and husband Robert Klotz of Virginia; Michael Campbell, wife Debbie, children Tyler and Kelsey of California, and one stepson, Stephen Coleman and wife Inga of California.
Mr. Campbell had eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
A memorial service is planned at a later date. Mr. Campbell's body will be cremated, under the supervision of Geeslin Funeral Home in Alpine.
Mrs. Campbell suggested that those wishing to honor her late husband may make contributions to the Mathew Todd Coleman Memorial Scholarship Endowment at Sul Ross State University in Alpine, established by the couple in 2001 in honor of the stepson who died.
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