Joe Apodaca

Joe Ben Apodaca, born June 8th 1923 in Santa Fe, NM passed away peacefully surrounded by family on February 10th, 2018. Joe was known to his friends as "Hosa" (The Bear). Joe grew up in Santa Fe and was the oldest of 12 kids born to Celestino and Guadalupita Apodaca. He began working at age 6 selling newspapers on the street corner in front of his Uncle Frank's convenience store. He was an amazing athlete, and during his high school years he starred in Baseball, Football, and Track for both St. Michaels and Santa Fe High. He joined the U.S Army January 3, 1943 and was sent off to Europe during World War II. He served under General Patton as a Technician 5th Grade. He was assigned to duty, landing in the U.S. Campaign at Northern France. He took part in the D-Day invasion of Normandy but thankfully, his unit went in one day late on June 7th, 1944. He served 1yr and 10 months overseas defending our country and was involved in the Battle of the Bulge, the Bridge at Remagen, and the Battle of Berlin. He was responsible for rebuilding bridges so the U.S. Forces could continue their advance. He received an Honorable Discharge on December 7, 1945. Upon his return to Santa Fe, he became a Police Officer where he met his future wife Dolores Sanchez. They married in 1947 and had their first child Elizabeth Kaye in 1948. After getting a job at the Los Alamos National Laboratories, he moved his family to Los Alamos in 1952. He worked for the Laboratory for 30 years. During his time at the Laboratory he also worked as an Official for both High School Football and Baseball around the State of New Mexico. After retiring from the Lab, he took a job with the Los Alamos Public Schools as a Bus Driver and worked with them for another 17 years. He finally entered full retirement at the age of 75. He loved his family, sports, fishing, camping, and road trips to California with his three grandchildren. Joe is survived by his grandchildren, Joseph Williams, Angela Williams, and Robert Williams; his great grandchildren Mariah Williams, Maranda Lovato, Ryan Kosler, and Easton Williams; His siblings Eddie Apodaca, Dolores Beven-Ingram, Celestino Apodaca Jr., Lucy Apodaca, and Viola Apodaca; and many nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his Wife Dolores Apodaca, his daughter Elizabeth Apodaca, and his siblings Reyes Apodaca, Tony Apodaca, Lina Apodaca, Helen Apodaca, and Mary Apodaca. Services for Joe are as follows: Rosary will be held Wednesday March 7th 6:00 pm at Berardinelli McGee Funeral Home, 1399 Luisa Street Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505 505.984.8600. Mass will be held Thursday March 8th 11:00 am at St. Francis Cathedral 131 Cathedral Pl., Santa Fe, NM 87501. Burial Services will follow at 12:45pm at the Santa Fe National Cemetery with full Military Honors.

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