Just a post aimed at family members.
Other may get something out of it.
Seeing posts from people involved in amateur
radio got me to reminiscing about my late uncle Joe. Copied an announcement
from the ham newsletter in 2001.
Joe
White, K0CNV, a long time RMRL member, died February 20 after
being in failing health for the past few years. Joe was a fixture
of the Denver amateur radio scene for more than 40 years, and was
in the commercial tower business prior to his retirement. He also
ran the RMRL swap net until his health concerns prevented it.
He was married to a large brassy blond
named Elise. Medical problems prevented them from having children and their
chaotic life precluded adoption. He focused his energies on ham radio and she
on disabled veterans, abused children, and an obscure Indian village in
Mexico. The woman was formidable.
Joe’s principal employment was a heavy
truck mechanic. He was so good his company would fly him out by helicopter to
their broken down trucks.
Joe was willing, no eager, to teach me
all about ham radio. I never caught the bug. I do remember him telling me his
tower, all 40’ of it, was grounded in an underground stream. Said it gave him a
powerful ground wave. I assume some
readers will know what that means.
At family gatherings the younger children
would be tasked with climbing trees to string antennas.
For all his mechanical skill, he
neglected their vehicles. Elise nagged him to fix her brakes. He said he would
do it; she didn’t have to remind him every six months. When they got to the
point where the brakes had to be pumped three times, she took it to a local
shop. The next time he drove it, at the stop sign he pumped the brakes. Took
him a few years to live that one down.
Elsie was an indifferent housekeeper. Not
long after my wife and I married we were visiting and Elsie feed us stew. Since
it was prepared in a pressure cooker I felt it was safe to eat. As my bride was
eating the family cat walked across the table and my wife’s plate. Calmly, she lifted
the cat off the plate and continued to eat while avoiding the paw prints in the
stew. Damn, I was proud of her.
Elsie would spend all year gathering
clothing and useful items for the Indians. Once a year she and Joe would pack a
large trailer and head to Mexico pulling it with their pickup with a slide in
camper.
They devoted countless hours to
supporting Search and Rescue with communications and whatever civil defense
needs were in their community. They were two people who gave unstintingly to
others even when they barely had a pot to piss in.
I could have done without Joe and a buddy
showing up for our wedding drunk on their asses. Oh well, part of belonging to
a large family.
Elsie had serious health problems. One
time when she was in the hospital, my wife and I visited. There was a constant
stream of visitors. An eclectic mob to be sure. Everything from black ladies
dressed in their best church clothing, WW II vets in wheelchairs, foster parents, and
some I couldn’t classify.
Elsie preceded him in death by a decade.
As his health faded, several of my cousins rallied to his aid insuring home
repairs were done, yards were mowed, etc.
Doing the Google thing, found this little
tidbit.
Call Sign: K0CNV, Grant Date: 12/12/1994, Expiration Date: 12/12/2004, Cancellation Date: 12/13/2006, Registrant: Joe W White, 6335 W 53
Ave, Arvada, CO 80002
I assume these are for certain periods as
I remember him having the same call sign for as long as he was involved in amateur
radio.
He had a side business climbing broadcast
towers to repair burned out lights. More than once he offered to bring me
along. Gosh, it always coincided with something I had previously committed.
Heights in airplanes don’t bother me. Towers? Cliffs? Makes my scrotum make
friends with my diaphragm. I can, and have, done it but I damned sure didn’t
enjoy it.
Over the years as a young man, I was
exposed to a lot of expertise by aunts, uncles, and older cousins that I am richer
for knowing. Uncle Joe was a part of
that.
