Joseph E. Stocker

Joseph E Stocker, 69, a former resident of the Gales Creek community currently of Wikieup, AZ passed away on March 13, 2017 at his home.
Born Joseph E. Stocker, October 4, 1947 to Kathryn & William Stocker in Tillamook, OR.
Raised in Garibaldi, OR, one of seven children, Joe would share stories of climbing the hill and playing at the big G and always took his kids on the "tour" of Garibaldi and where he'd play when he was a boy. In fact, on a trip to the coast a few years ago, he was able to give grandson Hollis the same tour.
Joe attended a few different grade schools in the Forest Grove area as the family moved around.
At age 12, Joe moved up to Pumpkin Ridge, where he lived in a small shack on the property of Irvy and Lucy Hutchinson. Joe considered those to be some of the best days of his life. He worked hard and got to hunt as he wished.
Joe attended Hill High and graduated class of 1966.
He had worked for Harry Sook on the Sook family farm, where he met and married Harry's daughter, Patricia Sook.
Joe and Patricia married in August of 1966 and headed off to Chicago, IL, where Joe was in training for the US Navy. Joe & Pat specifically chose the Navy because they thought it was the safest place for him to be……even in spite of the fact that Joe was prone to sea sickness. He spent the next four years sea sick.
In 1970, Joe & Pat welcomed their first child, a son, Joseph E. Stocker the second. He was a proud papa, indeed.
Joe began his welding business around that same time. He began with a portable welder on the back of his truck. Things were lean for the family for those first years, but his hard work & excellent work ethics were the foundation for his rock- solid reputation.
In 1974, Joe & Pat welcomed daughter Victoria, while living on Pumpkin ridge. Joe's business was growing and it was time to move. The family settled in the town of Gales Creek in 1977, where Joe built phase one of his shop. The years went on and Joe worked tirelessly, sometimes day & night. The company grew and he went on to build an additional three phases.
In 1982, third child Elizabeth was born. She was a total delight and had her dad wrapped around her finger. Most nights, as a little girl, if she was awake upon his coming home, she'd hide behind the curtain & give us a story to tell of her whereabouts that we were to tell when dad walked in the door, well, of course good ol dad was wise to the plan & would start saying things that would get the giggles going from over in the curtains, where when she could no longer contain herself, would come flying out to hug his neck. Then she would perform circles for him on her tricycle in the living room and though tired as he was, they'd play puzzle or memory game together.
It was Joe's dream that his kids would one day work in the shop and eventually take it over. He got to see part of that dream as he was able to teach Joey how to weld & use the machines and gave Victoria the broom, dust pan & grease rags to clean the floors & machines, in addition to letting her fill in in the office in later years.Even little Elizabeth had her part too, she swept floors, stocked the soda and went on runs to the little store for Franks & chips for the guys. The bottom line was that he was going to teach his "kid's how to work!!"
There were many guys that came & went, but there was a good handful of guys, such as Mick Alexander, Tim Lomax, Dave Sampsle, Lou Birdsal and Mick Alexander Sr., just to name a few, that stayed with him, and whether he showed it often or not, he truly had a heart for them and wanted to see them succeed, for themselves and their families. He shared with his girls in the later years, often, about how proud he was of his guys and how he wished he could go back and do things a little different, just by letting them know their value to him and to say a few more "thank you's" .
In the 25 plus years of operation of Gales Creek Iron & Machine, Joe was a friend to the Gales Creek community and much of the community was a friend to him.
As things started to shift in the community and hardships surfaced, there was a knowing that his Iron & Machine shop would close, he started up Joe Stocker Crane service and he relocated to Sumpter, OR.
Joe loved it up on his mountain. The crane service required him to travel a lot & he decided that was enough of that.
Being the go getter that he was, he couldn't just do nothing.
He had a motto, "always have your land make you money". So, with that, he created Cracker Creek Mining Camp, he built a trammel, sluice boxes a little store….you name it. Anything he needed to make it one of a kind & up to par, he did it and he did it with excellence. He drew in the crowds to pan for gold and live their very own dreams of being a gold miner. Each weekend in the summer, he'd host the clients that came & camped out for the weekend and fix them a big dinner. Thousands came over the course of the years and went home satisfied with their unique experience & their little treasure bag of gold.
Joe had a tendency to be a bit competitive and enjoyed taking part in horse shoe competitions which he won a trophy for more than once.
As time went on Joe decided it was time to do something new. He started up SumpterValley Redi-Mix and Excavation. This would become his final business. He drove around with the sticker "Rock with Joe" on his vehicle. Building equipment, once again, and on his property, he started crushing rock for roads and processing sand for the batch plant. It was around this time he met Sharon Ritchey, who would become his wife. They were married in Baker City, OR on Tuesday, December 23, 2014.
Joe had a great sense of humor and thought it to be loads of fun to "surprise" the family with his wedding. It was a happy day, full of smiles, laughter, hugs & celebrating.
Joe & Sharon enjoyed traveling together, playing cards and visiting the Casino on occasion. Joe was quite good at Texas Hold 'em and Poker
During his years, Joe took a couple vacations with his family to Disneyland that proved to be quite memorable, as he was fond of Clark Grizwold in Summer Vacation,we're pretty sure he could relate so well.Through out the trips (and on trips to come) he would often impersonate Clark as Marty Mousse, making the family laugh. On one trip,the family of five was packed into a small (VERY small) sleeper car on a train for two days,  this included, at the time, 6' 7" tall Joey and Joe wasn't too small either. As stated, it was memorable.
There is no denying, Joe "lived a good life" as he shared with his girls in his last days.
He was thankful for the hunting trips with Joey to Montana. The hunting trips he took with Joey Brewer & Blair Gamble, who he saw as added sons. He reminisced of the adventure with Elizabeth, when he took her to Canada to hunt and help build a lodge with his guide friend, Betty. He was thankful for the beach trips and numerous outings of playing tourist with Victoria & her family. He was thankful for his added sons, Troy and Stefan, commenting frequently that his girls had good men and he needn't worry about them. He was proud of his grandkids and loved to take them to coffee to show them off and spend time with them. His role as grandpa was suiting him well. From holding the babies to helping with their birthday parties, teaching them to shoot and of course, showing them the value of work.