Joseph Wallace, 88, passed away on July 25, 2022 in Eureka.

Joe was born September 6, 1933, in New Brunswick, Canada, the third child of Leo and Margaret Wallace. His father was a fisherman and a carpenter in the off season. Joe moved to California when he was eight and grew up in the Bay area. He graduated from Santa Clara University as a mechanical engineer. He spent two years in the army in Germany. Most of his career was as a branch manager for Johnson Controls.

He met his wife Irene at Burlingame High School and were married for 67 years. They raised five children, Joseph, Daniel, Martin, Mary and Jeanette on their small ranch in Loomis, California. They raised most of their own food there, beef, sheep, chickens, ducks, rabbits, and goats. Had multiple horses. The family was active in 4-H. Had a vegetable garden, orchard, and a pond of fish. Cows and goats provided milk.

After the children moved on, Joe and Irene moved to Petrolia in 1990, lived in their cabin and built their house. He and Irene rode out the 1992 three major earthquakes and hundreds of aftershocks. They lived off the grid on a hilltop overlooking the Mattole River, estuary, and ocean for 25 years, then gradually to Eureka.

Joe is survived by his wife Irene, children Joseph, Daniel, Mary (Belton) and Jeanette (Roberts), and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. 

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The obituary above was submitted by Joseph Wallace’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.