On December 1, 2020, our patriarch Papa Joe left this earth to meet his beloved wife Helen in heaven. Joe was surrounded by family and so much love. 

Joseph Lawrence Strabala lived an extraordinary life. Born October 5, 1932, Joe and his siblings Patricia and Bill were raised in Lohrville, Iowa, by Bertha and Wallace. He was a heroic Navy fighter pilot who served on the USS Bonhomme Richard CV-31 in VF-141, flew dozens of Naval aircraft, and loved his country. Joe was the first to survive a 37,000 ft. bailout in the air without oxygen, only sustaining aches and bruises. In 1956, LT J. L. Strabala met a beautiful stewardess named Helen Jeraldyne Horne on a blind date in San Diego and they were married three months later. Joe was a devoted husband for 58 years; an exemplary father to his four sons, Joel Scott, Jeffrey Warren, Jay Marshall, and Jon Ashley; and a loving father-in-law to Dona, Karen, Joan, and Vivian. Papa Joe/Opa was an idyllic grandfather who was very proud of his nine grandchildren, Brandon, Shannon, Maggie, Sara, JT, Abbie, Sydney, Paige, and Kendall. He was elated that he would soon become a great grandfather. 

Joseph received a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Iowa State University, studied aeronautical engineering while a Naval Officer, and earned a Juris Doctorate in Law from University of Washington. Joe was a tinkerer and an inventor who could fix anything or any car, preferably his old Mustang convertible in Orinda. He practiced law in Seattle and became a patent attorney for Shell Oil and a full partner in the largest San Francisco law firm before running his own successful practice. Papa Joe enjoyed retirement in Tucson before moving to Costa Mesa in January 2020 to fight his battle with cancer. His extended family was especially blessed October 2020 to celebrate Joe's 88th birthday and amazing life together. Joe and Helen will be interred together in San Diego at the MCAS Miramar National Cemetery (formerly Naval Air Station Miramar) on Friday February 17, 2023 at 2pm, the same base where they were married and remarried for their 50th Anniversary. Joe was a generous man who lived a life of deep Catholic faith. We love and miss you Papa Joe, God's newest angel. 

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