Joseph Louis Gilmaker

JOSEPH LOUIS GILMAKER 1927-2005 Joe died November 11 in Santa Monica after complications from surgery. A Villa Park resident, Joe lived a full life and will dearly missed by his daughters Wendy and Deborah, his four grandchildren and all of those who were close to him. His interests ranged from family to politics to music and classic cars. The descendant of pioneers who helped settle Santa Ana in the 1870s, he worked in the city most of his life and was president of Civic Center Realty. In 1980 he cast a vote to elect Ronald Reagan as a member of the Electoral College. He served as president of the California Republican Assembly in 1984 and is credited with bringing computers to that political fundraising organization. Joe was raised in Long Beach and attended military school and Long Beach City College. In the early days of World War 11, He delivered telegrams by motorcycle in the Corona area. When he turned 17, he joined the Merchant Marine and served as a radio officer aboard a freighter that supported American troops in the Philippines campaign. His ship later carried one of the first cargoes of rubber from the liberated Dutch East Indies to the United States. He maintained a lifelong interest in ham radio. Following the war Joe worked in Long Beach area shipyards and aboard vessels which traveled from California to Canada. He also was a broadcast engineer for radio station KVOE. He married Edwina Sharp in 1952 and the couple settled in Garden Grove where they raised three children. The family later moved to Villa Park. Edwina and their son Joseph Mark Gilmaker predeceased Joe. In recent years, Joe was active in the Santa Ana community, serving on the board of the Downtown Santa Ana Business Association, as board member of the Lions Club and as a member of the Elks Club. He had a love of music and played the clarinet and saxophone. He gave the gift of music to all four of his grandchildren. Alex, Harrison, and Max all play an instrument. He inspired his granddaughter Cara with jazz and big band and she later went on to get her degree in music from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia; she has now performed all over the country and on the high seas. Recently she did a 40's show on the Queen Mary in Long Beach and Joe sat in with the band and just loved it. Her favorite gigs though were singing in Joe's Casablanca Band, a jazz and swing band that performed at schools, nursing homes and private functions. Joe also fancied classic cars and owned several, the oldest being a 1916 Model T Ford. He as an active member of the Jaguar Owners Club. With longtime friend Betty Barrus he recently won a Jaguar Club rally. He also played Santa Claus every year at El Dorado School for the Gifted, in Orange, where his daughter Wendy teaches and all four of his grandchildren attended classes. Joe was such a loving and kind person. To him, family came first. He was so supportive of his daughters, always telling everyone that he had two doctors in the family. In over 40 years in business in Santa Ana, he often clashed with city government interests over issues from redevelopment to parking. In his profession, he will always be known as someone who stood up for and supported small businesses to grow and become successful. He believed that above all, the rights of the individual should always be protected. Visiting will be on Friday, November 18, from 4pm to 8pm at Melrose Abbey, 2303 S. Manchester, Anaheim. Services and burial will take place there at 10 am Saturday.