Joseph D. Lubell

August 8, 1924-September 23, 2010 Joseph D. Lubell of Rancho Mirage, Calif., age 86, died on Thursday, September 23, 2010. He was born August 8, 1924 on the lower East Side of New York City to parents Sophie and David. Joe (as he was endearingly called) grew up in the Bronx, New York City and attended Public School 66, Herman Ridder Junior High School and James Monroe High School. At the age of sixteen, he had the choice of a scholarship to the College of the City of New York (CCNY) or a contract to play baseball with a farm club related to the New York Yankees. His parents directed him to college. World War II interrupted normal aspects of life, coping with growing up during a long-lasting depression, and at the age of eighteen he was assigned to The Army Air Force and left the confines of New York for basic training at Seymour Jonson Field in Goldsboro, N.C. GI Joe was assigned to the Yankee Division, a Massachusetts National Guard Group with an excellent combat history in World War I. After spending a great deal of time in army hospitals, he received a medical discharge with several military honors on August 24, 1945 and almost immediately enrolled at New York University School of Law. Joe started his career in advertising in 1946, part-time while attending school. In 1950, he formed his own advertising company, which grew into an award winning agency that included Cory Art, PR Associates, and Production Planning. He also ventured into real estate and built 2000 single family houses in New Jersey, along with a shopping center and an apartment development. Another venture as CEO of Leisure Time Developers took place in the Catskill Mountain area in upstate New York. An entrepreneur at heart, Joe inaugurated Pax Air and Pax Sea, Wall Street sponsored companies for freight forwarding. In the 1970s, Joe took a new path and entered the oil and gas business, drilling more than 400 wells in California, Oklahoma, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. He also successfully negotiated the purchase of a 66,000 ton oil tanker that he operated in the Persian Gulf from Kharg Island, Iran to Eilat Israel, as well as operated a vessel in the Caribbean. In 1991, Joe and his cherished wife, DeAnn, moved to the Coachella Valley. Joe was beloved and respected by all who knew him. He was known for his sophistication, kindness, and sense-of-humor. He is survived by his wife, DeAnn; children Robin Shankman and son-in-law Ned of Rancho Mirage, Jay Lubell and daughter-in-law Marilyn of New York, N.Y. and Steven Lubell and daughter-in-law Claudia, and Tanya Trefry; grandchildren Eric Simkin, Justin Lubell, Ava Lubell, Ricki Lubell, Max Lubell, Sam Lubell, and Jake Trefry; also brother Harold Lubell and sister-in-law Ruth. A celebration of life ceremony will be announced at a later time. Donations may be made in his honor to Angel View Crippled Children's Foundation.