What can I say about Joe to Celebrate his life,

First, He was:

• The Patriarch of the Strabala Dynasty for over 60 years

• The Husband of Helen Jeraldyne Horne Strabala

• The Brother to Patricia Kelvin and William (Bill) Strabala

• The Father of 4 boys

• The Grandfather of 9 grandchildren

• The Great Grandfather of 2 grandchildren

• Most of all, he was me Dad

Second, Joe was my:

• He was my 1st Hero (John Glenn when he orbited the Earth in 1962 was my 2nd Hero)

• A graduate of Lohrville High School, IA

• Iowa State Ames, Graduate with a BS in Chemical Engineering

• A Distinguished Graduate of US Navy Pilot Training

• A talented Navy Fighter Pilot

• Flew the F-9F Panther, F-11F Tiger, F-4D Skyray, F-8 Crusader, and A-1 Skyraider

• LCDR In the US Naval Reserves

• Earned his Juris Doctorate of Law from University of Washington

• Corporate Attorney for Shell Oil and Caterpillar Tractor

• A very successful Patent Attorney for over 50 years

• A Perfectionist

• A Slave Driver (Joel, Jeff, Jay, and Jon were the slaves)

• A Coach

• A Cub Master

• A Scout Master

• A WWE Wrestler (always wrestled us 4 boys, all at the same time, and won)

• A water ski boat driver

• A mentor/teacher

• An auto mechanic

• An architect

• A general contractor

• A builder

• A demolition expert

• An electrician

• A plumber

• A woodworker

• A welder

• A dry waller

• A painter

• A concrete expert

• An electronics technician (built a Heathkit Multimeter, Oscilliscope, & a Color TV)

• An inventor ( Invented/patented an innovative gasoline powered rotary engine)

• A Jack of All Trades

• Able to fix anything

• If Joe couldn’t fix it, then you know you were screwed

• Someone who was always right, was never wrong, and who never lost or failed

I was fortunate enough to be with Joe when he passed 809 days ago…

And then on 01 December 2020, Joe showed up at Heaven’s Pearly Gates. …

St. Peter looked a Joe’s life resume, and noticed he was a lawyer …

St Peter told Joe he was in the wrong place, as no lawyers had ever been admitted to Heaven before, that he needs to go to the elevator and go to the basement …

Joe said, wait, I am a good Catholic lawyer, who helped people all my life, let me litigate my life’s work, and convince you, that I should be let into heaven …

St. Peter said, OK, you have 15 minutes to present your case, …

So Joe did a such a superb job arguing why he needs to be let into heaven, and be reunited with his wife Helen, that St. Peter had to agree.

So St. Peter said, because you are the first lawyer we have ever let into heaven, your are going to have to spend the number of years you were a lawyer in purgatory, before you spend the rest of eternity in Heaven with s as Helen.

St. Peter then hands Joe a scroll, that says when your penance for being a lawyer is over, show this to the purgatory to heaven gateman, and then you can come back to heaven.

So Joe takes the scroll, opens it and reads it, and blurts out, hey this says 900 years!!

St. Peter responds with, well here in heaven, we use your billable hours.

Third, Joe was very smart, and usually was very humble (except to us four boys), however if he found out we got in trouble and/or screwed up he would always let you know.

I want to warn everyone, that if Joe lived 2000 years ago, he would have been the 4th wise man!

Finally, I am going to read you all a poem titled High Flight by John Gillespie McGee, as a tribute to Joe’s exemplary life:

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth

And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;

Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth

of sun-split clouds,-and done a hundred things

You have not dreamed of-wheeled and soared and swung

High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,

I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung

My eager craft through footless halls of air....

Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue

I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace

Where never lark nor ever eagle flew-

And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod

The high untrespassed sanctity of space,

Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

The world is a now poorer place without Joe and Helen, and I miss them very much.

Please raise your glass in honor, toast, and remember Joseph L Strabala, Father, Grand Father, Great Grandfather, Dad, Joe, Opa, Papa Joe, and the late great Patriarch of the Strabala Clan,

May you live forever in heaven with your one and only true love Helen,

Salute!!

Helen & Joe will always be Uncle Joe & Aunt Helen (or Aunt Honey) to me. Aunt Helen was my God Mother and youngest sister to my mom Suzanne Horne Hunt. We loved the Strabalas and their boys my sister Heidi and I thought the little boys were ours as they lived in Seattle while Uncle Joe went to law school. Our families had many visits between California & Washington and Aunt Helen was a regular visitor as her mother Marie I Horne was still alive.  Aunt Helen would send newsy letters including all the details of a family of six, who was last in the Emergency Department, who got their ponytail cutoff at the dinner table, who wrecked the Mustang, who crashed the boat! We loved those letters and then came athletics, college & marriages.   

When Uncle Joe and Aunt Helen moved to Tucson, I had inherited my folks Tucson house, they were about 20 minutes away and we spent a lot of time together every time I came to town.  I would meet them at EARLY mass, breakfast, Bubs Grub and great dinners @ Joel & Donna's. Shannon & Brandon also a big part of their lives and then mine. As the years went by I did more and more cooking to repay them for all the meals at their club and because Aunt Helen would say she was tired of Uncle scrambled eggs....poor Uncle Joe he tried his best. My family spent Easter one year at their house and Aunt Helen and I would go to the pool.  The last few years I had fun decorating their house for Christmas and seeing all the Strabala ornaments.  After Aunt Helen passed, I made it a point to get Uncle Joe out as he was pretty house bound while Aunt Helen was alive.  One adventure I took him to Sabino Canyon (he'd never been) it's an amazing place with a variety of cactus, rocks and wildlife.  When we finished the tour, I was excited to hear was his impression was and he said " Thats a lot of cacti" ALWAYS a Californian the desert didn't impress him.

 I felt like I lucked out spending those last years with them and all the memories although they never converted me to the GOP.

Your Loving Niece, 

Gretchen Helene Hunt Malinowski