Joseph Peter Bauer Jr.
Joseph “Joe” was born on the second anniversary of Pearl Harbor, and he peacefully passed away on Memorial Day at Cottage Hospital at the age of 80. He was the oldest of 7 children born to Edna and Joseph Bauer Sr. Joe grew up traveling the US while his father was transferred with the USAF and Alaska’s National Weather Service. They spent time in Florida, and then predominately in Fairbanks, Anchorage, and Juneau Alaska. He started high school at Mt. Angel Abbey in Oregon, before returning to Alaska to graduate from Juneau High.
Joe earned a BA in Mathematics from Gonzaga University in Washington, while working the summers as a laborer for the US Forest Service. During his sophomore year at Gonzaga, he met the love of his life, Rosemary Zea Gecsey (of Santa Claus Lane, Santa Barbara County). They liked to say they met halfway between AK and CA. They married on June 15, 1966, at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Carpinteria. Joe served in the US Air Force from 1966-1972 at Lackland, TX AFB and McCord, WA AFB, continuing his reserve duty when he and Rosemary moved to Santa Barbara CA, following the birth of the first of their 13 children.
Joe began work at Applied Magnetics where he was tasked with learning how to program the new cutting-edge computer. In 1970, he inquired about a job at Santa Barbara Research Center (SBRC). They didn’t have a current opening for him, but after hearing about his computer programming skills, Joe was asked to look at a problem they were having. Joe handily fixed the problem, impressing the manager, so they hired him. His work at SBRC included computer program design and troubleshooting, user support, supervisor of the software development group, software porting when the company switched from Macintosh to Windows, and earth observing and remote sensing satellite projects, such as Landsat, GOES, MODIS, JAMI, and THEMIS. Joe worked until his retirement in 2008, with SBRC becoming SB Remote Sensing, Hughes Aircraft, and Raytheon during his tenure. He always joked about working for many different companies over the years from the same desk.
Joe was a very active member of St. Raphael’s Parish for over 50 years, singing in the choir, teaching youth and adults, and serving as extraordinary minister of the Eucharist.
Joe volunteered in the community in several capacities including Goleta Valley Beautiful, Boy Scouts, and serving with St. Vincent de Paul Society, with a term as president.
As the father of 13 children, there were endless sports activities, bruises and braces, new drivers and tire changing lessons, awards and graduation ceremonies, and camping and hiking vacations. Joe loved babies, jigsaw puzzles, watching rocket launches and Iridium flares, stargazing, and enjoying flowers, especially purple ones and “smiling” pansies. He enjoyed biking and swimming, walking around the neighborhood, and even climbed Mt. Whitney at 65 years of age.
Joe is preceded in death by his parents, his in-laws Joseph and Rosemary, and his brothers James and Gerald, and his sister Joy Marie. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Rosemary; his brother Geoff (sp. Karen), and sisters Jolyne (sp. Tom) and Theresa (sp. Mike); his brother-in-law Joseph Jr (sp. Gina); 13 children: Joymarie (sp. Steve), Joseph, Monica (sp. Alex), Michol, David (sp. Emily), Deborah (sp. James, deceased), Rebecca (sp. Jan), Robert (sp. Stefania), Peter, Thomas, Patricia (sp. Chris), Rosemary, and Theresa (sp. Logan); and 19 grandchildren. His twinkly blue eyes, constant smile, memorable laugh, and funny puns will be greatly missed. Many thanks to all who helped care for Joe during his last several months.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Raphael’s at 5444 Hollister Ave on June 17th at 10am, preceded by a Rosary service on Sunday June 16th at 6pm. A graveside service at Calvary Cemetery will follow the burial. Flowers are welcome or please consider a donation to St. Vincent de Paul.