E. Joseph "Joe" Rispalje

May 01, 1938 - May 26, 2016

E. Joseph "Joe" Rispalje Obituary (Age 78) Joe unexpectedly passed away in his sleep on May 26, 2016 at his home in Spokane, WA. He was born on May 1, 1938 in Portsmouth, OH to John A. and Elizabeth A. Rispalje. Joe graduated from Central High School in Sioux City, IA and then service in both the Navy and Coast Guard. He took refrigeration-air conditioning courses at Universal Trade School in Omaha, NE, Dunwoody Institute and N.W. Electronic Institutes in Minneapolis, MN. Joe was enrolled at the University of Minnesota taking general night courses one year. He also lived in Seattle, Bothell, Rochester and Spokane, WA. Joe spent most of his working career in refrigeration with Thermo King as a mechanic, trainer-instructor retiring after thirty years as Western Regional Manager in 1999. On weekends he enjoyed working on cars and trucks and visiting Shriners Hospital as the clown Jolly Joe. He was a member of the Nile Shrine Temple Clown Unit in Seattle. Joe is survived by his wife of 31 years Demarious; sister LaDonna Preston (Sioux City, IA); daughter Jill Blyth and her children William and Benjamin; son James Rispalje and his children Jameson and Jolin (all of Minneapolis); stepdaughter Debra Babcock and her daughter Amanda (Hamilton, MT); stepson Christopher Ross (Albuquerque, NM). He is preceded in death by parents John and Elizabeth Rispalje (Sioux City, IA); uncle Robert Chester Turner (Lancaster, OH); brother-in-law Donald Preston (Sioux City, IA) and two sets of grandparents. In respect of Joe?s wishes, there will be no funeral or memorial service but a remembrance gathering in July.