Joseph Creamer Fowler

West Point, 1968

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Steve Lancaster on May 29, 2010:

JOE FOWLER Barbara, thank you for giving me the opportunity to say a few words about Joe. I do not have the time to say all that is in my heart about Joe, but I want to give you a full picture of the man who has been my best friend for over 30 years. The more I thought about Joe the more I realized how special a person he is and how blessed we all are to have had the chance to know him and be his friend. When I go to describe Joe a long list of titles and personal attributes come to mind and I want to share them with you. Many were mentioned last night after Father's prayer when he asked us to say one word that characterized Joe. 1. Loving and caring Husband: Devoted to Trish, his first love, who he cared for with great tenderness throughout her illness. He always loved her. When she died, she left a huge hole in Joe's heart and then he met Barbara, "the love of his life." Thank you Barbara for coming into Joe's life. He was so excited to introduce you to Pauline and me and to all of his friends. You knew immediately how much he loved and cared for Barbara. 2. Father: Joe and Barbara blended their two families into one larger, stronger, loving family. Our conversations were full of Joe talking about Michelle, Robb, Liz, and Bryan. Being called Dad was very special to him and he took the responsibilities that came with the title seriously. 3. Grandfather: No one I know was more excited about being a grandparent than Joe. When you saw him with Sage the glow in his face was striking. He was quick to tell me she was perfect and the best baby there ever was.. 4. Father -- in -- law: As Ted, Jason, and Jen know he was a special man who cared about them in the same way he cared about his children. He also made sure they understood how important Notre Dame was to him. 5. Brother: Family was important to Joe. Kathy, Bob, Mary, and Mike you were very special to him and he loved you dearly. He loved to host events that would include you or his nieces or nephews so he could show his friends how much his family meant to him and special you are. 6. Brother -- in -- Law: Joe had a very special relationship with his sister's husband, Paul Maloy. They were high school friends and regularly played golf matches against each other. Joe would regularly call me and give me the run down on his most recent match with Paul. If he won a dollar or two from Paul, he would call me immediately and go over the match stroke by stroke. 7. Son -- in -- law: After Trish's death he continued to stay in contact with her parents, Pat and Bernie Murphy. Checking on their well being and making a point to visit them. Pat is now deceased but Joe had lunch with Bernie in August. 8. Practicing Catholic: A cradle catholic who attended Mass weekly and considered religion to be important. He sang in this beautiful choir with Barbara. I remember attending Mass here and enjoying the wonderful music, with Joe and Barbara singing in the choir. He organized an annual golf outing to raise money for his parish. 9. Cadet: He was very attached to West Point and stayed connected with his classmates. He always rooted for West Point, even if they were playing Notre Dame. 10. Baseball pitcher: He loved to talk about pitching against the Mets while playing baseball at West Point and could tell you the exact pitches he threw.. 11. Soldier: He was commissioned into the field artillery and never forgot what it meant to be an artilleryman. 12. Fixed wing pilot: He attended flight school and became a fixed wing pilot. 13. Attorney: Attended law school as a part of the FLEP program. 14. JAGC officer: Remained in the Army as a JAGC officer retiring as a full Colonel. He mentor many young officers and many of you are here today. 15. Instructor at the JAGC School: He was a member of the Advanced Course in 1977 and we choose him to stay and teach in the Administrative Law Division, the best Division in the school. 16. Tennis player: Joe loved to kill the ball at the net, especially if we were playing Brian Bush or Scott Magers. 17. Basketball player: A very good shot and extremely tough under the boards. Slow of foot, but quick with a comment 18. Commander of the Claims Service: He fulfilled the definition of Commander. His soldiers came first and he always cared about them. 19. Executive Director of the Laborers Health and Safety Fund of North America: A defender of labor unions and what they have and continue to do to make this a better country. Made lots of friends based on his professionalism and ability to put people at ease. 20. Golfer: a big part of Joe's life. Constantly trying to improve. All golf gimmicks imaginable. Always after me to practice. If he was your partner he was always positive about your game and gave great advice. The four some (Dennis, Scott, Joe and me.): He always wanted to win, but never at all cost. He would call me to make sure I was working on my game and tell me we were going to beat them really bad this year, and then on the course he would concede five and six foot putts and tell me we would get them on the next hole. He was always a friend, even when competing against you. 21. Biggest Notre Dame fan I have ever met. I am the Notre Dame graduate, but Joe was the fanatical fan. He made sure I kept current by giving me a subscription to Blue and Gold Illustrated and then insisting that I continue to renew it. 22. A Democrat who always cared about the little guy. 23. A HUGGER before it became fashionable. I remember the first time he hugged me I was a little taken aback, but I admit, it felt really good. We always said hello and good by with a hug. 24. A great dancer: Joe was very light on his feet and loved to hit the dance floor. Going to a dance with Joe was big time fun! 25. Loved Rock and Roll: He new the words and the performers. He would ask you the name of a group or record and then enjoy singing the tune to you. 26. Loved to eat: Especially chocolate chip cookies, M&Ms, and potato chips. Joe and I would connive to keep them hidden from Barbara and Pauline. 27. Long range planner: Joe would set the dates and locations of our next meetings well in advance and then hound me until my reservations were made. 28. Outgoing: Joe knew no strangers. We traveled the world together and we always ran into somebody he knew. 29. Caring: You could share your good and bad times with him and he would always listen and give you great advice. He would make that hard call to a friend who was being treated for cancer or had lost a spouse. He would open his home to you if you needed a place to stay. I remember when John Joyce, a West Point friend and fellow JAGC officer died, Joe insisted we travel from D.C. to Indianapolis to attend JJ's visitation and let his wife, Pam, know that we really cared. We made the trip by car in two days -- one day out and one day back! We shared the good about our kids, and yes, the bad. Believe me, there was good and bad. We celebrated the good and commiserated about the bad I am sure you all have your own caring story about Joe. 30. Colleague to many of us. 31. A friend to all of us: As soon as you met Joe you were his friend and I am sure many of you thought he considered you his best friend, BUT I know I was his best friend! 32. He was My Best Friend. This list could most certainly be longer and I do not intend to imply that I have covered everything about Joe. What I hope you remember from these short remarks is that Joe was a very special man who reached out to everyone he met. He made the extra call and planned the next get together because he considered you special and important. He loved life and lived it to its fullest. He would want and expect us to do the same. We are all better men and women for having Joe Fowler as our friend.

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