Joseph Paul Ables Sr.

Joseph (Joe) Paul Ables Sr, 80, passed away on January 12th, 2023, in Oregon City, OR. Joe was born in West Allis, Wisconsin, on March 15th, 1942, to Wheeler and Margaret (Thiele) Ables. He had two older brothers, Bob and Dave. He also gained two half-siblings after his mother married Othmar Schnell, Sharon and Rick. He spent his youth in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area. He was especially fond of the time he spent visiting his Grandmother Thiele at her farm. He graduated from Brookfield High School in Brookfield, Wisconsin in 1960. Immediately following graduation, Joe joined the Navy, serving until 1964. He served as a boilerman on the USS Princeton and the USS Wilkinson. He then served as a Navy reservist until 1966. Joe continued to have a fascination with ships throughout his life. After discharge from active duty, he moved to Utah and married Maurlene Wilson in 1964; they later divorced. He was the proud father of three sons, Tony, Joseph Jr (Joey) and Dustin (Dusty). He worked at Toole Army Depot, Defense Depo Ogden, and Hill Airforce Base as a warehouseman until 2006. After retiring, he moved to Oregon to be closer to his son Dustin and his family. He spent his days fishing and loved to call Dusty after every fishing trip to brag about his catches and when he didn’t catch anything, he would still call to remind Dusty that he was retired and could fish any time he wanted. He was passionate about genealogy and spent part of each day working on his family tree. He spent the last several years as a resident of Sommerset Lodge in Gladstone, Oregon, where he had many friends. His family joked that he was the most social anti-social person you would meet. He loved to talk to people about whatever he found interesting, especially genealogy, the Green Bay Packers, and all things related to being from Milwaukee. Joe is survived by his sons Joseph (Joey) Jr and Anessa Ables, and Dustin (Dusty) and Alisa (Ali) Ables, as well as 14 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his son Tony, his brother Dave Ables, and his sister Sharon Schnell. The family would like to thank the staff of the ICU at Providence Willamette Falls Hospital for their excellent care of Joe in his final days. A celebration of Joe’s life will be held at a later date. Until we meet again, Joe.

Joseph Paul Ables Sr.

March 15, 1942 - January 12, 2023